The lawful purchase of a gun in Indiana requires the buyer to provide personal and financial information to the seller. The law is intended to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. Unfortunately, a number of guns have been purchased by persons who provided the required information, but then gave or sold the gun to persons who used the weapon to commit a crime. Indianapolis prosecutors recently revealed that two such guns were used in the unrelated murders of two police officers.
The guns that were used in the two homicides have been traced to a resident of Indianapolis and two residents of Terre Haute. The three are accused of providing false information to facilitate the purchase of the weapons from registered gun dealers in Indiana. Prosecutors allege that the three weapons were either sold or given to the persons who were involved in the murders of the policemen.
The three suspects have not been accused of directly participating in the murders, but they have been charged with making false statements when buying a gun. One of the defendants has also been charged with a conspiracy to make false statements when buying a gun, unlawful possession of a gun by a convicted drug user and selling a gun to a drug user. The suspects are alleged to have completed the purchase questionnaire by stating that the gun was being purchased for personal use, when in fact, the defendant intended to either sell or give the weapon to another person. The defendants face sentences of up to ten years for each conviction.
The length of potential sentences indicates the seriousness of the charges in these three cases. Anyone who may be facing similar charges may wish to consult an experienced criminal defense attorney for an evaluation of the evidence and law that will govern the case and for advice on negotiating a favorable plea agreement.
