Man pleads guilty to trafficking gun police used to kill Russell County sheriff’s deputy

An Indiana man has pleaded guilty to illegally transferring the gun police say was used to kill a Russell County sheriff’s deputy last month.

As part of a plea deal, Shawn Michael Kays, 41 of Terre Haute, Ind., pleaded guilty to a federal charge of trafficking a firearm. Sometime between Nov. 2023 and Jan. 2024, Kays transported and transferred a gun to a convicted felon.

Police say that firearm was then used by Joshua George Arnold, 41, on Sept. 16 to kill Russell County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Phipps during a shootout that followed a police chase.

Both Phipps and Arnold died.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a press release Kays was not involved in the shooting.

Kays will be sentenced in Feb. The maximum penalty is 15 years in prison.