A former Marshall County man could face up to 50 years in prison after being found guilty in a two-day trial in Marshall County Superior Court.
Russell A. Prosser, of South Bend, formerly of Culver, was charged with two counts of serious violent felon in possession of a firearm. A jury found Prosser guilty of one count of possession of a firearm by a serious violent felony, a Class B felony. He was found not guilty on a count of possession of a flint lock pistol and a gun cleaning mat.
The case began in December of 2013 when officers found Prosser sleeping in a truck in the McDonald’s parking lot in LaPaz. He was a suspect in a case where several thefts occurred from vehicles in Culver. Guns were spotted by police inside the vehicle. A warrant to search the vehicle was obtained, and the weapons were confiscated. He was known by police to have been convicted of an armed robbery, and it was illegal for Prosser to possess any firearm
The jury this week was informed that there was a second phase of the trial where they examined that he had at least three previous, unrelated felony convictions. Any two of those would make him a habitual offender.
With that, Marshall County Prosecutor Nelson Chipman says Prosser will face a maximum sentence of 20 years on the firearms charge with an enhancement of an additional 30 years on the habitual offender count, for a total of 50 years. Chipman indicated in a press release that he would argue for the maximum sentence of 50 years.
Prosser will be sentenced on March 13, 2015.
