INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis woman was recently sentenced to prison after she illegally purchased a firearm, knowing her son was going to use it for a reported violent crime.

According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, 39-year-old Tyesha Clark was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison after she pleaded guilty to making a false statement to a licensed firearms importer, as well as engaging in the unlawful sale or transfer of a weapon to a juvenile who intended to use the gun in a violent crime.

The release said that Clark was also sentenced to two years probation after her federal prison sentence.

According to court documents, Clark purchased a Glock 19X 9mm handgun from a federally licensed firearms dealer in Indianapolis on March 13, 2021. Officials said in that transaction, she “falsely certified” she was the buyer of the gun, when in reality, she purchased the gun for her son.

In texts uncovered during the investigation into the incident, Clark communicated with her son about the model and the cost of the firearm, as well as ammunition. Texts also showed that Clark knew her son had a history of trading illegal guns on the street.

The messages also showed that Clark disposed of firearms she believed were used by her son in illegal activity, purchased guns to further the activities and “provided guidance on removing potential evidence of illegal activity from social media.”

Officials stressed that Clark’s son is not charged in the federal case, and therefore “remains innocent of any crimes until proven guilty.”

“Far too many of the shootings and killings in our communities are committed by people who have no lawful business having a gun in the first place. Many of these dangerous criminals are armed because someone else committed a crime to get them a gun,” Zachary A. Myers, a U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said in the release. “Straw purchasers share a measure of culpability for the violence and death they facilitate. The federal prison sentence imposed here demonstrates that illegally arming violent criminals carries serious consequences.”