Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — De’Quan Briggs, 28, of South Bend, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Briggs was sentenced to 70 months in prison.

According to documents in the case, in June 2021, Briggs, who had an outstanding arrest warrant for violating his federal supervised release, was found in a car with a loaded handgun. The firearm contained a high-capacity magazine and had been reported stolen two weeks previously from a gun shop burglary. Briggs had previously been convicted of at least one felony offense and, as such, was prohibited from possessing the firearm in this case.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance from the South Bend Police Department and the Indiana State Police Laboratory. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke N. Reilander and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank E. Schaffer.

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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