Man facing federal charges receives prison sentence in separate case

GREENWOOD, Ind. (WISH) — A man facing federal charges has been sentenced in a different case.

Christopher Byrne received a five-year sentence for operating a vehicle after being a habitual traffic offender, a level six felony. He will serve three and a half years of that in prison and the rest on probation.

When Byrne was pulled over after driving suspiciously in the Greenwood Park Mall parking lot, he was found to have a Ruger 10-22 rifle with 100 rounds of ammunition, a scope, a homemade suppressor and water bottles containing bleach and ammonia were located in the back seat.

At the time, Byrne refused to provide identification and referred to himself as a “sovereign national” and Investigators believed he may have been planning an act of “domestic terrorism.”

Last month, investigators said Byrne may have been plotting to kill law enforcement. Federal investigators charged him with one count of possession of a firearm and additional rounds of ammunition as a convicted felon.

Johnson County Deputy Prosecutor Rob Seet said Byrne was on an apparent mission to kill a judge assigned to his case, Greenwood police officers and prosecutors.

“Instead of thinking about how he needs to change his ways, he’s lashing out at the authorities. He’s lashing out at the cops and the prosecutors. Because, God forbid, he be held responsible for what he did,” Seet said in January.

The judge assigned to his case withdrew after police had found Byrne had researched the judge’s home address.

Byrne was also charged in 2015 after a stolen police rifle was found in his apartment. The vehicle that it was stolen out of was set on fire.