HAMMOND- Cachun Combs, Jr., 46 years old, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Gretchen S. Lund after pleading guilty to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Combs was sentenced to 105 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, on June 2, 2023, an officer with the Gary Police Department approached a running vehicle parked in an alley and observed Combs sleeping inside the vehicle with a loaded rifle on his lap. Comb's criminal history revealed that he had prior felony convictions for aggravated discharge of a firearm, attempted battery and carrying a handgun without a license, battery resulting serious bodily injury, and a possession with intent to distribute cocaine base. Any one of these convictions prohibited him from possessing the firearm 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 Gary Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristian R. Mukoski.

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.