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Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A South Holland, Illinois, man, Alfredo Swain, 48, of the 15000 block of Elm Street, was sentenced on May 23, 2022, by U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough, to 30 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for possession of a firearm by a felon.
At the sentencing hearing, the government presented evidence that Swain was riding as the tail car behind a group of motorcyclists. After a car tried to pass the group unsuccessfully, Swain pointed a firearm with an extended magazine at the other car alarming the passengers. A passenger in the car alerted authorities. Troopers from the Illinois State Police District 9 patrol division responded and were able to recover a loaded semi-automatic firearm with an extended magazine from Swain’s car.
Swain was indicted on the federal charge of felon in possession of a firearm on May 5, 2021, and has been detained since his first court appearance. He pleaded guilty to the charge on January 18, 2022.
The statutory penalties for possession of a firearm by a felon are up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a $250,000 fine.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Illinois State Police investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Sarah E. Seberger represented the government in the prosecution.
The case against Swain was brought as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) 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.