Department of Justice

SOUTH BEND – Xavier Zebulon Marzette, 39 years old, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after being found guilty during a 2-day jury trial of being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Marzette was sentenced to 36 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, in September of 2019, South Bend Police responded to a disturbance at an apartment complex and received information that some of the participants were armed. Officers stopped a car leaving the scene and found a loaded 9mm handgun inside which they were able to tie to Marzette whose DNA was found on the trigger.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the assistance of the South Bend Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joel Gabrielse 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.