A Bremen man was recently sentenced in U.S. District Court after pleading guilty in a plea agreement on a charge of felon in possession of a firearm.
According to information released by the office of U.S. Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch II, Jason Clevenger, 35, passed five counterfeit $20 bills to a Four Winds-South Bend casino patron for a genuine $100 bill. The patron realized the $20 bills weren’t real and alerted casino security.
Following the transaction, court officials state that Clevenger met another man in the parking lot where Clevenger moved a long gun from his car and placed it in the other man’s car. The two men drove off the property and later returned. It was then when police took Clevenger into custody on a warrant. Two guns were removed from the car where Clevenger was riding.
Clevenger pleaded guilty to the charge of felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced per the terms of that agreement to 30 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Kirsch stated in a press release that the crime occurred on federally-recognized tribal land and the commitment remains to “focus efforts on those committing federal crimes on the Pokagan’s tribal land.”
This crime was investigated by the FBI in coordination with the Pokagon Band Tribal Police Department and the St. Joseph County Police Department. This case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke N. Reilander.
