Indianapolis Man Sentenced to Three Years for Testifying Falsely Before a Federal Grand Jury

INDIANAPOLIS—Jamarkus Gorman , 29, Indianapolis, Indiana, was sentenced to 36 months in prison on Friday afternoon, July 31, 2009, by U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Barker following his conviction at trial April 21, 2009, for perjury before the Federal Grand Jury for the Southern District of Indiana, announced Timothy M. Morrison, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. This case was the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service.

This case stemmed from an earlier Indianapolis drug trafficking investigation conducted between late 2006 and June, 2007, that resulted in the return of eight indictments charging a total of 36 individuals. Besides the DEA and IRS, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the IMPD were also involve.

Jamarkus Gorman kept a Bentley convertible, purchased by his cousin in 2007 with drug trafficking proceeds, in the parking garage area of his exclusive apartment complex on the north side of Indianapolis. On June 22, 2007, after his cousin’s arrest, DEA agents confronted Jamarkus Gorman concerning the whereabouts of the Bentley. Jamarkus Gorman took agents to the other side of the garage–where the Bentley was not located–and indicated that is where he parked his car. The Bentley was moved out of the garage soon thereafter.

Jamarkus Gorman appeared before a federal grand jury sitting in Indianapolis on May 6, 2008 and testified under oath. Gorman was asked whether that Bentley convertible was ever in the garage at his apartment complex. Gorman stated no. The government was able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that denial was false.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melanie C. Conour and Michelle P. Jennings, who prosecuted the case for the government, Judge Barker also imposed 2 years supervised release following Gorman’s release from prison.