HAMMOND- Tommy Lee Tyner, Jr., 41 years old, of East Chicago, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Philip P. Simon after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Tyner was sentenced to 70 months in prison followed by 1 year of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, officers responded to a call on June 11, 2022, regarding a male pointing a gun at an individual in Hammond, Indiana. Upon their arrival at the scene, officers observed Tyner exiting a vehicle that contained a firearm. Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for the vehicle and recovered a loaded 9 millimeter pistol. Tyner's criminal history revealed that he had prior 2012 federal felony convictions for conspiracy to commit robbery affecting interstate commerce, attempted robbery affecting interstate commerce, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and as such he is prohibited from possessing the firearm and ammunition in this case.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Indiana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Task Force and the Hammond Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David J. Nozick.

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.