Press Release
Minneapolis, Minnesota, Man Sentenced to 36 Months in Prison for Possession of a Firearm as a Felon
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of Illinois
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – A Minneapolis, Minnesota, man, Hasan Raqueed Grayson, 39, of the 1900 block of North Penn Avenue, was sentenced on July 8, 2022, to 36 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release for possessing a firearm as a felon.
Grayson, who had been previously convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, sold a .38 caliber Smith and Wesson handgun, a holster, two magazines, and six rounds of ammunition to an undercover detective with the Moline Police Department.
Grayson entered a plea of guilty to the charge in January 2022 and agreed to forfeit the handgun, magazines, and ammunition to the government. Grayson faced a statutory maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
“This case is another example of the concerted efforts of the Moline Police Department to remove an illegally possessed firearm from the streets of our community,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer L. Mathew. “Individuals who illegally possess firearms will be held accountable for their conduct.”
The investigation was conducted by the Moline, Illinois, Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer L. Mathew represented the federal government in the prosecution.
The case against Grayson was brought as part of The Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative. The Department’s renewed commitment to Project Safe Neighborhoods establishes four fundamental principles to guide efforts to reduce violent crime: 1) build trust and legitimacy within communities; 2) invest in community-based prevention and intervention programs; 3) target enforcement and priorities to focus resources on identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the most significant drivers of gun violence and other violent crime; and, 4) measure results with the goal to reduce the level of violence in our communities and not to increase the number of arrests and prosecutions as if they were ends in themselves.
Updated July 11, 2022