Clifford D. Johnson, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana
Trashawn Heard, a 29-year-old resident of Chicago, Illinois, has been sentenced to over ten years in prison for violent crimes. United States District Court Judge Gretchen S. Lund handed down the sentence following Heard's guilty plea to charges of robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Tina L. Nommay.
Heard will serve 121 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Court documents reveal that on July 25, 2022, Heard entered a gas station in Hammond, Indiana, where he pointed a handgun with an extended magazine at employees and demanded money. After receiving the cash, he attempted to flee but was shot in the shoulder. He dropped both the money and the firearm before fleeing the scene in his car, which he subsequently crashed. He was then taken to a hospital and arrested there. At the time of this incident, Heard was on parole for three robbery convictions dating back to 2017.
The case was investigated by the FBI/GRIT Task Force with support from the Hammond Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael J. Toth.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative that aims to reduce violent crime and gun violence through collaboration between law enforcement agencies and communities. The program emphasizes fostering trust within communities, supporting community-based organizations that work to prevent violence, setting strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring outcomes.
