A South Bend, Indiana resident has been handed a 70-month prison sentence, following a guilty plea for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Dorian Baker, aged 57, received the sentence from United States District Court Judge Cristal C. Brisco, as was outlined in a recent statement from the office of United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson. The judgment includes a subsequent two-year supervised release for Baker.
In February 2024, while searching Baker's bedroom, investigators uncovered six firearms, multiple large capacity magazines, over 40 grams of marijuana, and a digital scale. The firearms were found despite Baker's prior convictions, including one for using a firearm during a drug trafficking offense, which by law excludes him from possessing any firearms, according to documents from the case obtained by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
This latest enforcement is the outcome of a joint investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the South Bend Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Hannah T. Jones spearheaded the prosecution. Baker's case falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a nationwide initiative aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence, making community spaces safer for everyone involved.
The Department of Justice resurrected the Project Safe Neighborhoods on May 26, 2021, with a fresh violent crime reduction strategy grounded in principles of fostering trust in communities, supporting organizations that prevent violence from occurring, setting clear enforcement priorities, and measuring their results. These efforts, designed to strengthen the PSN, reflect a concerted effort to bridge law enforcement with the communities they serve, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
