Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

INDIANAPOLIS – James Hoskins, 41, of Indianapolis, was indicted by a federal grand jury for the federal crime of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, on June 20, 2022, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) were dispatched to South Belmont Street on a report of a domestic disturbance. Upon arrival, officers learned that Hoskins and his wife had been arguing, and that during the argument, Hoskins had threatened, physically assaulted, and pointed a handgun at his wife. Police located the gun and arrested Hoskins.

Hoskins is prohibited from possessing firearms due to his prior felony convictions. Hoskins was convicted of forgery and theft in 2012, escape and burglary in 2016, and synthetic identity deception in 2018, all felony convictions in Marion County, Indiana.

Hoskins made his initial court appearance yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tim A. Baker of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana and was ordered detained pending trial. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana and Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Columbus Field Division made the announcement.

The ATF is investigating the case. IMPD provided valuable assistance.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Fugate who is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of the LEATH Initiative (Law Enforcement Action to Halt Domestic Violence), named in honor of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Officer Breann Leath, who was killed in the line of duty while responding to a domestic disturbance call. A partnership among the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the IMPD, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, the LEATH Initiative focuses federal, state, and local law enforcement resources on domestic violence offenders who illegally possess firearms.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.