Man who wildly swung rifle at officers during pursuit sentenced to 6 years in prison

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man was sentenced to six years in federal prison after swinging an AR-15 at police officers during a pursuit.

Raymond Bowie, 21, of Indianapolis, was sentenced to six years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, on Sept. 4, 2021, officers witnessed an individual, who had an outstanding warrant, attending a funeral of a homicide victim while noticeably carrying a firearm.

Officers were attending the funeral after becoming aware of various threats of violence and retaliation that were made by associates and family members of the deceased individual.

After witnessing the man leave along with Bowie and others, police attempted to start a traffic stop. The driver of the vehicle led police on a high-speed pursuit beginning in the 3700 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The driver did not comply and led police on a high-speed chase exceeding speeds of 100 miles per hour.

Due to the excess speeds, police terminated the pursuit. Officers searched the area of the chase and within minutes located the vehicle crashed on I-465 northbound near the I-65 on-ramp.

As officers approached the vehicle, they saw Bowie and another passenger fleeing from the crash on foot.

Bowie was "recklessly swinging a rifle with an extended magazine around as he fled police", which he later discarded, according to court documents.

Bowie eventually dropped to the ground because of his injuries from the accident and was detained by police without incident, according to court documents. Officers located the firearm discarded by Bowie, which was a converted fully automatic AR-15-style rifle loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition.

Bowie has three prior felony convictions for armed robbery and was also convicted of dangerous firearm possession. Bowie was on probation at the time of his September 4, 2021, offense, and violated the terms of his probation by illegally possessing a firearm, according to court documents.

Bowie is prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law due to his previous felony convictions.