EAST ST. LOUIS MAN SENTENCED FOR BEING A FELON IN POSSESSION OF A FIREARM

A. Courtney Cox, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on April 30, 2009, WILLIE F. JOHNSON, age 44, of East St. Louis, Illinois, was sentenced in United States District Court in East St. Louis, Illinois, to 57 months imprisonment, fined $200, and was placed on 3 years’ supervised release. JOHNSON was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment.

JOHNSON had previously pleaded guilty on January 23, 2009, to a federal indictment which charged him with being a felon in possession of a firearm. The investigation disclosed that JOHNSON was arrested by Centreville Police who responded to a report that JOHNSON had shot a dog.

The investigation was conducted by the Centreville Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, pursuant to their participation in the Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a joint and cooperative effort of the United States Attorney’s Office, and federal, state and local law enforcement agencies directed at removing guns and drugs from our communities.

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