March 08--The U.S. Attorney's Office announced Thursday the indictments of seven people for unrelated federal gun charges.
Two of the male defendants are from Indianapolis and are accused of committing armed robberies.
All seven of the suspects are convicted felons and being held on gun possession charges. It is against the law for convicted felons to carry around firearms.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said its prosecution of illegally armed felons has jumped to eight cases per month, as federal authorizes have put more emphasis on getting illegal guns in armed felons off the streets.
"Just two years ago, illegally-armed felons were being indicted by the U.S. Attorney's Office at a rate of just one prosecution per month," said John Minkler, first assistant U.S. attorney. "Last year, we averaged more than eight prosecutions per month, and I applaud the hard work of the law enforcement partners here today who have helped us maintain that pace in 2012."
Those indicted Thursday were Carlos Ortiz, 22; Andre Williams, 40; Raymond Barnes, 48; Robert Behling II, 44; Brian Christie, 36; Andre Wells, 23; and 32-year-old Eric Battle.
All the defendants face penalties of up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 fines.
Fox59 will have a full report beginning at 4 p.m. on Fox59 News.
Copyright 2012 - WXIN-TV, Indianapolis
