Date: 12-18-2024

Case Style:

United States of America v. Denzel Givens; Christopher Rucker

Case Number:

Judge: Damon R. Leichty

Court: The United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana

Plaintiff's Attorney: The States United Attorney’s Office for Fort Wayne

Defendant's Attorney:

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Description:

Fort Wayne, Indiana criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendants charged with Firearms Illegally Possessed
Two Men Sentenced for Firearms Illegally Possessed

Denzel Givens, 31 years old, and Christopher Rucker, 34 years old, both of South Bend, Indiana, were sentenced by United States District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty this week after each previously pled guilty to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

According to documents in the case, in January 2024, Givens drove to an apartment complex parking lot in South Bend and backed the car into a parking spot facing a lane. Rucker was in the car with Givens. When a specific car drove down the lane, Givens started shooting two firearms at the car, and that car’s occupant returned fire. Givens fired nearly 20 rounds, with some entering the occupied car and some entering the occupied apartment buildings behind the car. After the shooting was over, Rucker took both guns fired by Givens and hid them in a nearby apartment. Both Givens and Rucker had previously been convicted of felony offenses, and as such, both were prohibited from possessing the firearms in this case.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance from the South Bend Police Department, the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office, and Indiana State Police Laboratory Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Katelan McKenzie Doyle and Joseph P. Falvey.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Outcome:

Defendants were found guilty and Givens was sentenced to 92 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release.

Rucker was sentenced to 84 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release.

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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