Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
SOUTH BEND – Leontis Cornelius, 44 years old, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Senior Judge Jon E. DeGuilio after being found guilty of two counts of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm following a two-day jury trial in 2023, announced Acting United States Attorney Tina L. Nommay.
Cornelius was sentenced to 97 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, Cornelius possessed firearm on two occasions. In May 2020, he was engaged in a shootout outside his house when he fired seven .45 caliber rounds at a moving vehicle. Later, in June 2021, he carried a loaded rifle with a large capacity magazine while in another person’s yard in the middle of the night. Cornelius has multiple prior felony convictions, including discharging a firearm toward a building, assault with a dangerous weapon, delivery/manufacturing of cocaine, and possessing with intent to distribute cocaine, any of which prohibit him from possessing the firearms in this case.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance from the South Bend Police Department, the St. Joseph County Police Department, and the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jerome W. McKeever and Katelan McKenzie 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.