Department of Justice

SOUTH BEND – Curtis Birner, 37 years old, of Peru, Indiana, was found guilty following a two-day jury trial presided over by United States District Court Judge Robert L. Miller, Jr., announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Birner was found guilty of the single-count Indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm in October 2021.

Birner will be scheduled for sentencing by separate order of the Court. Any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the District Court Judge after consideration of federal statutes and the United States Sentencing Guidelines.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the assistance of the Peru Police Department and the Miami County Sheriff’s Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jerome W. McKeever and Katelan Doyle.

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.