Indiana Man Sentenced to 15 Years on Drug and Firearm Offenses
HAMMOND, Ind. - Alfred A. Cooke, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Merrillville, Indiana, and U.S. Attorney Clifford D. Johnson of the Northern District of Indiana announced that Ricky Shultz, 51, of De Motte, Indiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Jon E. DeGuilio on his plea of guilty to possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
Shultz was sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by four years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, on Sept. 5, 2018, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Shultz’s residence in De Motte. During the search, law enforcement recovered over 200 grams of methamphetamine and 48 firearms, two of which were fully automatic. At the time of the search, Shultz had a prior felony conviction.
This case was investigated by the DEA, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, the Jasper County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, the Indiana State Police, the Porter County Multi-Enforcement Group and the Newton County Drug Task Force. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Nozick.
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.
