INDIANAPOLIS — A man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for illegal possession of a firearm.
According to a press release from the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, Michael Hughes will spend seven years at the Indiana Department of Corrections because he was convicted of illegal possession of firearm, a Level 4 Felony.
The same release indicates the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department initially became aware of Hughes’ most recent activity on June 28. On that date, officers responded to the 3300 block of Baltimore Avenue on a report of a stolen vehicle.
The vehicle’s occupants were later determined to be Hughes and another man. Officers ran the plate on the vehicle and discovered the car was stolen locally, according to MCPO.
Officers ultimately ended up speaking with Hughes, and he noted that he had personal items in the vehicle. When officers searched the car, they found a Smith and Wesson handgun, per MCPO.
Investigators then ran a criminal history check of Hughes and discovered he had multiple felony convictions, which should have prohibited him from possessing a firearm.
Police also found drug paraphernalia in the car, according to previous reports. The other man in the car, Jermaine Waddell, was sentenced to 365 days in prison for possession of a narcotic drug, according to court filings. Waddell got a 100-day jail credit subtracted from his sentence.
MCPO has handed out two significant sentences for illegal possession of a firearm this week. Damien Kimbrough was sentenced to six years in prison on Thursday for his role in a 2022 shooting on Broad Ripple Avenue.
“Firearms in the hands of those who are prohibited is an issue that we must continually address with the message that it will not be tolerated,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said via press release. “In these cases, the defendants met the consequences for choosing to illegally carry a deadly weapon.”
