Springfield Man Sentenced to 54 months in Prison for Possessing a Firearm as a Felon

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A Springfield, Illinois, man, Alvin D. Billups, age 36, was sentenced on October 23, 2024, to 54 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release, for possessing a firearm as a felon.

At the sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Colleen R. Lawless, the government established that in June 2023 Springfield Police Officers were on foot patrol in an area where numerous people were having a large block party. The officers approached a car containing an open bottle of alcohol. Billups was in the driver’s seat. During a subsequent search, Billups, a felon, was found in possession of a Taurus G2 9mm pistol. During the hearing, Judge Lawless noted that Billups had a significant history of firearms offenses, which included multiple prior state firearms convictions. 

Billups remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service, where he has been since his federal arrest on August 23, 2023. He pleaded guilty to the one-count indictment in the case on May 9, 2024.

The statutory penalties for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person are up to 15 years’ imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a $250,000 fine.

The Springfield Police Department investigated the firearms case with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case against Billups is part of a committed effort to combat gun violence in Sangamon County, Illinois, by law enforcement including the Springfield Police Department, Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Seberger represented the government in the prosecution.

The 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.