Indianapolis Illegally-Armed-Felon Receives Ten year Sentence As Part of Violent Crime Initiative

Man with extensive Marion County Criminal History Receives Maximum Statutory Penalty

INDIANAPOLIS – Joseph H. Hogsett, the United States Attorney, announced today that Raymond Smalls, age 40, of Indianapolis, has been sentenced to 120 months (10 years) in prison by U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson. Smalls was convicted of having illegally possessed a firearm in a prosecution arising out of the U.S. Attorney's Violent Crime Initiative.

"Our Violent Crime Initiative is designed to keep firearms out of the hands of convicted felons in this community," Hogsett said. "By stopping the revolving door of justice and holding these habitual offenders fully accountable, we are reducing gun violence and hindering the illegal trade of firearms in Indianapolis."

On January 20, 2011, Marion County law enforcement found Smalls to be possession of a Ruger, Black Hawk .357 caliber revolver. Smalls' extensive criminal history included a felony conviction in Florida for conspiracy to commit robbery, and Marion County convictions for possession of cocaine, resisting law enforcement with a vehicle, possession of marijuana, and strangulation.

This prosecution comes as part of the U.S. Attorney‘s Violent Crime Initiative (VCI), and is the result of a collaborative investigative efforts by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

Launched in March 2011, the VCI has produced a dramatic increase in the number of gun-related charges brought federally – from just 14 charges in 2010 to more than 110 last year. This trend has continued in 2012, with more than 100 firearms-related gun charges filed by prosecutors. More than half of the prosecutions under the VCI have been of Marion County defendants, who collectively represent more than 400 prior felonies in the Indianapolis area. According to Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew J. Rinka and Zachary A. Myers, who prosecuted the case for the government, Smalls was also sentenced to serve a term of supervised release at the end of his prison term. Federal sentencing rules require that, at a minimum, Smalls will serve 85% of his sentence in prison.