Felon from Muncie sentenced to 13 years for firearm crimes

MUNCIE, Ind. (WISH) — A felon from Muncie on Friday was sentenced to 13 years in prison for firearm-related crimes in January 2023, according to a news release issued from the Delaware County prosecutor.

Online court records show a jury on Dec. 12 found De’Merio L. Strong, 29, guilty of a mid-level felony charge of unlawful possession of a firearm, and a low-level felony charge of intimidation with a deadly weapon. After deliberating for 2.5 hours, the jury also found him not guilty on mid-level felony charges of kidnapping and domestic battery.

The prosecutor said Strong had prior convictions for armed robbery and battery by means of a deadly weapon, which had rendered him ineligible to carry a firearm.

Strong was arrested after a report at 3:50 p.m. Jan. 6, 2023, of shots fired around the intersection of West 13th Street and South Acorn Street in Muncie. That’s southeast of downtown Muncie in the Cahse housing addition, and near Thomas Park.

Strong told investigators after the shooting that he had been visiting a girlfriend’s nearby home when Muncie Police Department Officer Danielle Bradford, in an unmarked truck, confronted him, and he ran because he knew he had a warrant. Strong denied having a handgun prior to or during the shooting.

An officer, though, recovered a handgun at the scene that linked Strong to the firearm.

Judge Judi L. Calhoun from Delaware C...