Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
FORT WAYNE – Arvil W. Bryant, Jr., 32 years old, of Litchfield, Michigan, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Holly A. Brady after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced Acting United States Attorney M. Scott Proctor.
Bryant was sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, on May 14, 2024, Bryant was apprehended on a motorcycle in Fremont, Indiana, for warrants out of Michigan. During a search incident to arrest, Bryant was found in possession of a firearm that was reported stolen. As a convicted felon, Bryant was prohibited from possessing the firearm. State and local bomb squads were also called to the scene to secure an improvised explosive device affixed to the handlebars of Bryant’s motorcycle.
“On May 14, 2024, Arvil Bryant was a felon,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Proctor. “He should not have possessed any firearm; let alone one reported as stolen. He especially should not have possessed that firearm while riding an explosives-laden motorcycle. Thanks to the excellent team that investigated and prosecuted the case, both he and those items are off the streets.”
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance from the Michigan State Police 1st District Fugitive Team, United States Marshals Service, Fremont Police Department, Steuben County Sheriff’s Department, Indiana State Police, Fort Wayne Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Forensic Science Laboratory. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Teresa L. Ashcraft.
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.