Illinois Man Sentenced for Unlawful Firearm Possession

United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Joshua C. Murphy, 37, of Villa Park, Illinois, was sentenced March 20, 2024, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska for being a felon in possession of a firearm.  United States District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Johnson to 68 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Murphy’s release from prison, he will begin a 3-year term of supervised release.

On October 4, 2022, an ATF confidential source made a controlled buy of a Sig Sauer 9mm handgun from Murphy, a convicted felon.  The handgun was reported stolen from West Virginia, and it included an extended high-capacity magazine.  The confidential source paid Murphy $1,200 of ATF buy money in exchange for the handgun.  The buy was audio and video recorded and monitored by law enforcement. 

Murphy has previously been convicted of the following felonies punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year: Motor Vehicle Theft over $20,000 (2013), in the 17th Judicial District of Colorado and Escape (2014), in the 19th Judicial District of Colorado. 

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.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.