INDIANAPOLIS – Jason Lee Munden, 32, of Maxwell, Indiana, was sentenced to two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
According to court documents, on March 1, 2021, deputies from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office served a warrant to arrest Munden for burglary. During the arrest, deputies found a short barrel rifle they suspected belonged to Munden. Munden was detained and placed a monitored phone call in which he admitted that the rifle belonged to him, in one instance referring to it as his “hand cannon.”
Munden was previously convicted of domestic battery after he punched the victim in the face and threatened to kill them. As a result of that domestic violence conviction, Munden was prohibited from possessing firearms.
Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, and Hancock County Sheriff Brad Burkhart made the announcement.
The Hancock County Sherriff’s Department investigated the case. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives provided valuable assistance. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young. As part of the sentence, Judge Young ordered that the defendant be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 3 years following his release from federal prison.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Abhishek S. Kambli, who prosecuted this case.
This case was brought as part of the LEATH Initiative (Law Enforcement Action to Halt Domestic Violence), named in honor of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) Officer Breann Leath, who was killed in the line of duty while responding to a domestic disturbance call. A partnership among the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the IMPD, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, the LEATH Initiative focuses federal, state, and local law enforcement resources on domestic violence offenders who illegally possess firearms.