Department of Justice

SOUTH BEND – Daviae O'Shay McKinstry, 25 years old, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

McKinstry was sentenced to 37 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, McKinstry’s DNA was discovered on a firearm that was found near the scene of a crime in Elkhart, Indiana on November 3, 2018. One of McKinstry’s prior felony convictions includes a battery for his involvement in a shooting incident.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with the assistance of the Elkhart Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kimberly L. Schultz.

This case was prosecuted as part of the South Bend Group Violence Intervention Program, a Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative (PSN). The PSN Program is 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.