South Bend Man Sentenced to 168 Months in Prison

SOUTH BEND – DeVante Jiggetts, 30 years old, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading guilty to two counts of robbery affecting commerce, one count of brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Jiggetts was sentenced to 168 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release.

and was ordered to pay $300 in restitution to the victims of the offense.

According to documents in the case, in November and December 2022, Jiggetts, along with co-defendants Smith and Harris, robbed at gunpoint several cellular telephone stores and a convenience store. The stores were spread across LaPorte, Elkhart, and St. Joseph counties. On November 29, 2022, Jiggetts drove Smith to commit a robbery of a cell phone store in South Bend. After the robbery was over, officers tracked Jiggetts to an apartment complex and attempted to apprehend him. Jiggetts fled first in a vehicle and then on foot, all while carrying a 9mm handgun that was recovered by law enforcement. Jiggetts had a 2014 felony robbery conviction which prohibited him from possessing the firearm. 

Co-defendant Treveon Smith was previously sentenced to 214 months of imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $300.00 in restitution.

Co-defendant Taibian Harris was previously sentenced to 84 months of imprisonment followed by 2 years of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance from the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office, the South Bend Police Department, the Elkhart Police Department, the Michigan City Police Department, and the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Katelan McKenzie Doyle.

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.