Jeremy Handshoe, 39, of Rome City, Indiana, is headed to federal prison for 15 years after being caught with guns he had no legal right to possess. The sentence, handed down by Chief Judge Theresa L. Springmann in Fort Wayne, marks the end of the line for a man with a long criminal history and a clear disregard for federal law.
Handshoe pleaded guilty to two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm — charges stemming from two separate incidents on February 26, 2015, and April 1, 2015. Despite prior convictions for serious drug offenses and violent felonies, he chose to handle and possess deadly weapons, violating federal statutes designed to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous offenders.
Court documents reveal Handshoe’s criminal record stretches back nearly two decades. Convicted in Noble County Superior Court on October 10, 1997, December 14, 1998, and May 17, 2007, those prior felonies triggered the Armed Career Criminal Act, a federal sentencing enhancement that mandates a minimum of 15 years behind bars for repeat gun offenders. This law was built for offenders like Handshoe — and it finally caught up with him.
The 180-month sentence is accompanied by 2 years of supervised release, assuming he makes it through the full term without incident. There will be no early release, no shortcuts — just hard time in a federal penitentiary, where violent felons with long rap sheets often find their place at the bottom of the hierarchy.
The investigation was a joint effort by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Indiana State Police, and the Rome City Police Department. Their collaboration peeled back the layers of Handshoe’s criminal behavior, leading to federal charges that carried the weight of his past. Prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tina L. Nommay and David E. Hollar, who ensured the full force of the law was applied.
U.S. Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch II made the announcement from the Northern District of Indiana, underscoring the federal government’s ongoing push to lock up violent felons who illegally rearm. For Jeremy Handshoe, the message was clear long before he entered the courtroom: three strikes, and you’re spending the next decade and a half behind bars.
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