From the U.S. Attorney:
ROCKFORD MAN SENTENCED TO MORE THAN SIX YEARS IN PRISON FOR ILLEGALLY POSSESSING A FIREARM
ROCKFORD — A Rockford man has been sentenced to more than six years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm.
WESLEY SMITH, 37, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston sentenced Smith to 77 months in prison.
Smith admitted in a plea agreement that on May 2, 2024, he possessed a loaded firearm in residence in Rockford.
The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and Gary Caruana, Winnebago County Sheriff.
The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Kim.
Holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece f Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
In the Northern District of Illinois, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses.
