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Press Release
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – An East Moline man, Devin Michael Lovgren, 28, of the 300 block of 17th Avenue, was sentenced on December 21, 2022, to 108 months in the Bureau of Prisons, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for his conviction of felon in possession of a firearm.
At the sentencing hearing, Chief U.S. District Judge Sara L. Darrow found that Lovgren created a substantial risk of serious bodily injury to a law enforcement officer by revving his engine and accelerating his vehicle toward the officer, nearly hitting the officer as he exited his patrol vehicle during a traffic stop in December 2018. Judge Darrow also found that Lovgren recklessly created a substantial risk of death or seriously bodily injury while fleeing in his vehicle. For seven miles Lovgren swerved in and out of traffic, reaching speeds of 100 miles per hour, crashing into a ditch, and ramming a police car. During the pursuit, Lovgren threw a sawed off Companhia Brasileira de Cartuchos Model 151, single shot, 12-gauge shotgun out of his driver’s side window.
Lovgren was indicted in May 2019, and pleaded guilty in September 2020. He has been in custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since June 2019.
The statutory penalties for felon in possession of a firearm are up to ten years imprisonment, not more than $250,000 fine, and not more than three years of supervised release.
The Rock Island County Sheriff’s Office, Henry County Sheriff’s Office, Silvis Police Department, East Moline Police Department, Colona Police Department, and Illinois State Police investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Joel C. Brakken represented the government in the prosecution.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.