Gary Man Sentenced to Life in Prison For Drug Conspiracy and Murder

HAMMOND- Devontae Martin, age 30, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Philip P. Simon after a jury found him guilty of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and using a firearm to commit murder.

Martin was sentenced to Life in prison for using a firearm to commit murder.  He was also sentenced to 240 months in prison for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine.  Both sentences are to run concurrently.

According to documents in the case, between June 2016 and February 2018, Devontae Martin and numerous others conspired to distribute cocaine from a car wash located in Gary, Indiana.  Additionally, on July 28, 2017, Martin and a codefendant discharged a firearm during and relation to a drug trafficking crime that resulted in the murder of K.H.  

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Gang Response Investigative Team, the Gary Police Department, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Department.  The trial was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys David J. Nozick, Caitlin M. Padula, and Kimberly L. Schultz.

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.