INDIANAPOLIS — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Indiana, Southern), published as received.

INDIANAPOLIS – Joshua Jude, 34, of Indianapolis, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, on December 22, 2020, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) officers arrested Jude on an outstanding escape warrant. Jude was wanted for absconding from a residential reentry center, where he was completing his sentence for a prior federal conviction of unlawfully possessing a firearm. During a search of the apartment where Jude was located, officers recovered a .45 caliber handgun. On October 24, 2020, Jude’s ex-girlfriend reported the handgun stolen.

Also on October 24, 2020, a victim was shot in the shoulder at a gas station near 38th and Butler streets in Indianapolis. IMPD Detectives located two .45 caliber casings at the scene, which were recovered and subsequently determined to have been fired from the stolen handgun.

Detectives obtained surveillance video and observed Jude entering the gas station, removing a gun from his jacket, and handing it to another man, later identified as the shooter. Detectives later interviewed Jude, who admitted to providing the stolen firearm to the shooter.

At the time of his arrest, Jude had seven prior felony convictions in Indiana including intimidation, battery, criminal recklessness, a possession of a controlled substance. Each of these prior felony convictions prohibit Jude from lawfully possessing a firearm.

Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Columbus Field Division, and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) Police Chief Randal Taylor made the announcement.

ATF and IMPD jointly investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge James R. Sweeney II.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Pamela S. Domash who prosecuted this case.

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.