Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Kevin Brazier, Jr., 45, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Jon E. DeGuilio after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Brazier was sentenced to 57 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, in August 2022, law enforcement found Brazier in the early morning asleep in a car in a parking lot in South Bend with a gun on the dashboard. Police later learned the gun was loaded with 18 live rounds. Brazier has a history of violent crime, including convictions for felony domestic battery in the presence of a child and misdemeanors for violating a protection order, attempted aggravated menacing, domestic violence and intimidation of a victim. As a felon, Brazier is prohibited from possessing the firearm in this case.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the assistance of the South Bend Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerome W. McKeever.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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