Department of Justice

HAMMOND- Denear Scott, 32, of East Chicago, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Philip P. Simon after pleading guilty to making false statements in connection with the acquisition of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Scott was sentenced to 12 months in prison followed by 1 years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, between May and December 2020, Scott purchased a total of 13 handguns from licensed firearms dealers in Lake County, Indiana.  In each of the transactions, Scott falsely certified on federal forms that he was not an unlawful drug user, when, in fact, Scott regularly used marijuana.  Two of the firearms purchased by Scott were recovered by the Chicago Police Department during traffic stops of other individual within six months of the date of purchase.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Chicago Police Department, the East Chicago Police Department, and the New Chicago Police Department.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Padilla.     

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.