Felon sentenced to 175 months’ imprisonment for machine gun possession and mail theft scheme

A district judge sentenced an Indianapolis felon to spend nearly 15 years in federal prison after he was found in possession of a machine gun and altered checks stolen from the mail valued at more than $1.2 million.

In April 2024, a jury convicted Derrick Barbour, 28, of Indianapolis, also known as Derrick Barbour, Jr., on one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, one count of possession of a machinegun, one count of keys or locks stolen or reproduced, one count of unlawful possession of stolen mail and one count of bank fraud. He was ordered to pay $3,203 in restitution to two victims.

“In a unique combination of violent weaponry and financial crimes, this defendant posed a serious threat to public safety,” said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft. “Not only did he illegally possess a machine gun and other firearms as a felon, but he orchestrated a scheme using stolen arrow keys to steal more than $1 million in checks from unsuspecting victims.”

According to court documents, police officers located a stolen vehicle at a gas station in the early morning hours on Feb. 10, 2023, in Marion County, Indiana.

Barbour was the only occupant and was in possession of a Glock 9mm handgun fully loaded with 50 rounds of ammunition and equipped with a machinegun conversion device, or “switch”, making it a fully automatic weapon. Law enforcement also recovered a Glock 17 with drum magazine, a stolen Glock 20 10mm handgun and several magazines.

In addition to firearms, police located two envelopes containing hundreds of checks stolen from the U.S. Postal Service. Agents with the U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General identified two arrow keys, which are used by authorized mail carriers to open blue collection boxes, in Barbour’s vehicle.

“This sentencing represents the hard work and dedication by USPS OIG Special Agents working with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, ATF, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to bring charges on this significant mail theft investigation,” said Special Agent in Charge Dennus Bishop, U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, Central Area Field Office. “The OIG, along with our law enforcement partners, remains committed to safeguarding the U.S. Mail and ensuring the accountability and integrity of U.S. Postal Service employees.”

USPS-OIG agents also found additional stolen checks and money orders valued at more than $1.2 million. Several of the checks had been altered to change the payee’s name to be payable to the defendant. He had deposited one of the checks into his bank account.