Hogsett Announces Indianapolis Man Convicted of Drug and Gun Charges Sentenced to 13 Years in Federal Prison
More Results in United States Attorney’s Violent Crime Initiative
| U.S. Attorney’s Office August 25, 2011 |
INDIANAPOLIS—Joseph H. Hogsett, United States Attorney, announced today that Robert Stokes, 23, Indianapolis, was sentenced to 156 months in prison by U.S. District Judge William T. Lawrence following his guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime.
Stokes most recent troubles began in November of 2009, when a vehicle in which he was riding was stopped by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) for a traffic violation. During the course of the traffic stop, a .40 caliber, Heckler & Koch (H&K) handgun was found and Stokes admitted that the handgun belonged to him. With prior convictions for dealing in cocaine or narcotics (B Felony) in 2006, and possession of marijuana (D Felony) in 2009, Stokes was prohibited from possessing the handgun under both state and federal law.
On September 21, 2010, deputies with the Marion County Sheriff’s Department executed an arrest warrant on Stokes stemming from the November 2009 incident. When deputies located Stokes, they found him in possession of a Glock 27, .40 caliber handgun and a bag containing 18.9 grams of crack cocaine. Stokes acknowledged that the gun and cocaine were his and that he intended to sell the crack cocaine. Stokes was arrested on the outstanding warrant, but was released on bond from the Marion County Jail several days later.
On November 30, 2010, FBI agents and members of the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force sought to arrest Stokes on a federal criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm. When approached by FBI agents and police, Stokes, who was armed with a Glock 22, .40 caliber handgun, fled from the agents in a vehicle belonging to his girlfriend. Stokes drove for approximately 1 ½ blocks before his path was blocked by a marked IMPD patrol car and he was arrested.
During the course of their investigation, the FBI executed three search warrants and seized four additional firearms, including two AK-47 style assault rifles, one of which was equipped with a high capacity drum magazine loaded with 69 rounds of ammunition. Three additional people were arrested and charged in connection with the investigation, including Stokes brother, Frederick Smith, who was charged with supplying Stokes with two Glock handguns and an AK-47 style assault rifle.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Rinka prosecuted this case for the government and noted that between November 2009 and September 2010, Stokes was involved two separate, drug-related shootings in Indianapolis. In one of those incidents, Stokes was himself shot 13 times. Even after that incident, Stokes returned to violence until arrested by the FBI.
Judge Lawrence sentenced Stokes to 96 months in connection with his plea of guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and a consecutive 60 months in connection with Stokes’ plea of guilty to possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. Judge Lawrence also imposed five years’ supervised release following Stokes’ release from prison. During the period of supervised release, Stokes must undergo drug testing and comply with a long list of conditions imposed by the court.