By Noah Crenshaw | Daily Journal
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INDIANAPOLIS — Federal prosecutors this month charged an Indianapolis woman who bought more than 30 guns that were used in multiple violent crimes in Chicago.
Tashia Overton, 21, of Indianapolis, was indicted Sept. 8 by a federal grand jury on charges of making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm, making a false statement with respect to information required to be kept by a licensed firearms dealer and unlicensed dealing in firearms. If convicted, she could face up to 30 years in federal prison.
Overton’s indictment is the result of a U.S. Department of Justice operation that began in July in five separate regions of the United States. The goal of the operation was to reduce gun violence in the targeted areas by disrupting illegal firearms trafficking. Overton was one of six Indianapolis residents charged as a result of the operation in the Chicago region, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana.
The operation is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a Department of Justice program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer, the news release said.
Earlier this year, Overton bought a gun from a licensed dealer in Greenwood, during which she provided false information on the purchase paperwork. Four days later, Chicago police investigators recovered the gun at the scene of a crime in Chicago, according to the news release.
Investigators from the Chicago division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives later learned that over the course of 25 days, Overton had bought 31 guns and subsequently sold them within three days of the purchases. So far, six of the guns have been recovered, the latest after it was used in a mass shooting in Chicago, the news release said.
Of the 31 guns Overton bought, five were purchased at two stores in Greenwood, and the rest were purchased at stores in Avon, Brownsburg, Carmel and Lebanon. U.S. Marshalls arrested her earlier this month, and a trial is set to begin in November, according to online court records.
The Chicago area operation sought to identify guns used in violent crimes in Chicago that were bought in Indiana through straw purchase schemes, which is when someone who is not prohibited from buying a gun does so for the purpose of giving it to someone who is not allowed to buy or own a gun. In the Southern District of Indiana, 14 people have been indicted this year for straw purchasing and/or unlicensed dealing, the news release said.
The six Indianapolis residents combined are alleged to have bought more than 90 guns since last November, more than 20 of which have been recovered at various crime scenes in Chicago, including murders and an incident during which a Chicago police officer was shot, federal prosecutors said.
Also charged this month for separate straw purchase schemes this month are the following Indianapolis residents: Kwamay Armstrong, 29; Jayte Davis, 22; Jordan Henry, 22; Charles Hunter, 22; and Eric Keys Jr., 23.
“Those who illegally provide firearms to others fuel the violent crime crisis facing many of our major cities” said John Childress, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Despite the fact that those who illegally provide those firearms may never pull a trigger or brandish a firearm during a crime, they are significantly responsible for the destruction and harm resulting from the use of those firearms and as a result, will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted.”
The eight individuals who were indicted earlier this year on separate straw purchase charges are:
- Victor Anderson, 24, Indianapolis;
- Traven Armstrong, 22, of Indianapolis;
- Ernisha Collins, 30, of Indianapolis;
- Latasha Davis, 28, of Indianapolis;
- Ryanne Godfrey, 38, of Indianapolis;
- Kelvin Henderson, 21, of Indianapolis;
- Sierra Vasquez, 25, of Indianapolis; and
- Edward Wilson, 22, of Indianapolis.
