INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis “career criminal” was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
According to court documents, Corey Thomas, now age 33, was arrested on November 21 of 2020 after police were called to a domestic disturbance situation involving a gun.
Police said they spoke with a woman who claimed Thomas threatened to kill her and was armed with a shotgun. She told police Thomas left in a black Jeep. Officers later found Thomas sitting in the parking lot of a liquor store with a loaded 20-gauge shotgun, court documents state.
Officers discovered that Thomas also had an outstanding warrant for armed robbery in Marion County.
Thomas was prohibited from lawfully possessing firearms or ammunition due to multiple prior felony convictions, including four separate armed robbery convictions, said the DOJ. The department explained that because of his prior convictions, Thomas is an “Armed Career Criminal” under federal law and subject to enhanced penalties for illegally possessing a firearm.
“Time and again, we have seen that domestic violence by people with illegal access to firearms is a precursor to murder in the home and mass violence in public,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “The serious sentence imposed here shows that violent, illegally armed criminals will face serious consequences in federal court.”
