Armed Career Criminal Convicted After Selling Illegally-Possessed Guns to Indianapolis Pawn Shop

Video surveillance footage captured him selling the firearms and receiving the pawn ticket in his own name.

INDIANAPOLIS – A federal jury has found Jason Compliment, 42, of Brownsburg, Indiana, guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon following a two-day trial.

According to court documents and evidence introduced at trial, on July 16, 2022, the defendant sold three firearms to a north Indianapolis pawnshop for $725. Video surveillance footage captured him selling the firearms and receiving the pawn ticket in his own name.

The jury also found that the defendant was an Armed Career Criminal because of his numerous prior felony convictions in Hendricks and Marion Counties—including eight burglaries, resisting law enforcement, and possession of methamphetamine. In one prior case, the defendant burglarized a church and stole funds meant for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Each one of these previous felony convictions prohibit the defendant from ever legally possessing a firearm again.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and IMPD investigated this case. U.S District Court Judge James P. Hanlon presided over the trial and will impose sentence at a later date. The defendant faces fifteen years up to life in federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers, of the Southern District of Indiana, thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Jeremy C. Fugate and Bradley A. Blackington, who prosecuted this case.

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 our 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.