Warsaw Man Sentenced To 46 Months In Prison For Unlawful Possession Of A Firearm As A Drug User

SOUTH BEND – On Thursday, Jan. 22, Gary Schmucker, 47, Warsaw, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after a jury found him guilty of possessing a firearm as an unlawful drug user.
United States Attorney Adam L. Mildred announced in a news release Monday Schmucker was sentenced to 46 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, in the months leading up to late April 2024, Schmucker regularly and repeatedly used methamphetamine and marijuana. During this time, he also possessed at least three firearms, including a semi-automatic rifle modified to fire rapidly.
Law enforcement was called to his property on the morning of April 28, 2024, after he had used methamphetamine throughout the previous day and night while armed, the release states. Schmucker refused to leave his house and engaged in a standoff with law enforcement for several hours before he was finally detained.
“This case is an example of how collaboration between state, local and federal law enforcement can achieve the most effective available response to drug and gun offenses. We thank Kosciusko County Prosecuting Attorney J. Brad Voelz and his office, along with the agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department, Nappanee Police Department and Warsaw Police Department for partnering with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to help make Hoosiers safer to live, work, and raise their families,” said Mildred.
The case was prosecuted by Acting Criminal Division Chief Joseph P. Falvey and Assistant United States Attorney Jerome W. McKeever.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities and measuring the results.