INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man is in jail this week facing weapons charges as part of an ongoing crackdown on probation compliance by local police.
The case reflects a larger effort by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department in recent weeks.
While searching a home on East 12th Street, along with a second home on Pershing Avenue last month, IMPD officers claim they recovered six guns as well as fentanyl and four pounds of marijuana.
Photos of the recovered guns, provided by IMPD, can be seen below.
Court records show Durand Johnson-Nance is now charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon because the 27-year-old was on probation after being convicted of robbery in 2016. Johnson-Nance’s booking photo is shown below.
Indy Fraternal Order of Police President Rich Snyder said he believes compliance checks, like the case against Johnson-Nance, ensure accountability for people on pre- and post-trial release.
“We welcome an increase in compliance checks,” Snyder said. “When you’re in a city with more people on electronic monitoring than any other city in the nation, we’ve got to make sure we are monitoring the people out on electronic monitoring.”
According to a news release by IMPD:
On October 17, 2023, IMPD Downtown District Detectives and ICGTF assisted Marion County Probation with a compliance check on Johnson-Nance. However, Johnson Nance was not home and refused to return. Johnson Nance was also not at his workplace and had advised his employer that he was “in some trouble” and would be taking PTO for the foreseeable future.
Detectives went back to Johnson-Nance’s home and obtained a search warrant for the 4000 block of E 12th Street. Inside the home, detectives discovered:
– Approximately 30 grams of suspected fentanyl pills
– Approximately 4 lbs of marijuana
– A Lorcin L25 .25 cal handgun
– A Zig 1911 .45 cal handgun
– A Springfield Armory XD .40 cal handgun
– A Ruger 5.7 cal handgun
– A KelTec 9mm AR pistol
– A stolen Ruger SR9 9mm AR pistol
In addition to Johnson-Nance’s case, last week IMPD announced they seized 10 more guns following 40 different compliance checks around the city. That resulted in the arrests of 9 people for 20 criminal charges as part of Operation Knock Knock.
“I mean this is the result of multiple agencies working together and getting these people off the streets and ultimately Indianapolis is a little safer because of it,” said IMPD spokesperson Alexa Boylan.
Police point out that the warrant checks that resulted in the illegal guns being seized targeted only high-risk suspects most likely to re-offend.
A news release on Operation Knock Knock added:
The Office of Public Health and Safety will conduct intensive follow-up with those directly and indirectly impacted by the operation to offer services designed to address the systemic barriers that can lead to crime.
The proactive enforcement and service effort is designed to reduce the number of gun-related violence in the month of October. Throughout the month of October IMPD and our law enforcement partners remain committed to disrupting the cycles of violence through targeted enforcement and service efforts.
“It doesn’t close the revolving door, but it slows the revolving door from spinning so fast,” said Snyder.
Snyder says in recent years law enforcement had limited access to the records of people on conditional release.
A spokesman with Marion County Community Corrections sent the following explanation:
Pre-Trial electronic monitoring went from MCCC to Probation in 2020. The Courts decided to return Pre-Trial electronic monitoring to MCCC from Probation in 2021.
However, when the Courts moved to utilizing electronic monitoring as a component of Pre-Trial release, access to that tracking information was restricted. The only way MCCC can provide information on Pre-Trial clients is if they first request a subpoena.
MCCC actively shares data with IMPD on post conviction cases, but cannot do the same with Pre-Trial.
Johnson-Nance remains behind bars on a 7-day hold after which he will be eligible for an $80,000 bond.
