A Cahokia man was sentenced in federal district court on May 14, 2012, on an Indictment
charging unlawful possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon, the United States
Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. James
Mitchell, 29, was sentenced to 57 months’ imprisonment, 3 years’ supervised release, a $300 fine,
and a $100 special assessment. Mitchell also agreed to forfeit the gun that he illegally possessed.

The offense occurred on May 15, 2011, in Cahokia, Illinois. Cahokia police officers were
dispatched to a residence in response to a disturbance involving a report of shots fired. When the
officers arrived, they observed a man, whom they later identified as Mitchell, with a black object in
his right hand. As Mitchell spotted the officers approaching him, he turned and walked away,
refusing the officers’ commands to stop. The officers saw Mitchell hide something under a piece of
carpet at the top of the stairs at an apartment he entered. They discovered a magazine to a handgun
on top of the carpet, a single round on top of the carpet, and found a handgun located under the
carpet. After a brief standoff, Mitchell was arrested.

The case was investigated by Cahokia Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Deirdre A. Durborow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return to Top