Controlled Substance User Sentenced To Prison For Firearm

Kareem Pollard, 28, of Granite City, Illinois, was sentenced today in the United States District Court to 3 years in prison for two counts of Unlawful User of a Controlled Substance in Possession of a Firearm, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, has announced. Pollard will also be on federal supervised release for 2 years following his term of imprisonment. Pollard has been in custody since his arrest on March 26, 2015.

Court documents establish that on May 13, 2014, Pollard was seen walking into a convenience store in Madison, Illinois with a gun in the pocket of his sweatshirt. Law enforcement officers stopped him while he was walking away from the store and located a Rohm .22 caliber revolver in his pocket. When Pollard was interviewed by Madison officers, he admitted to being in possession of the firearm and admitted that he has been addicted to heroin for approximately four years. Then, between December 2, 2014 and January 2, 2015, the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwestern Illinois (MEGSI) caught Pollard selling small amounts of heroin on four separate occasions. During a subsequent search of his residence, a Taurus Judge Revolver was found in Pollard’s bedroom.

The investigation was conducted by the Madison Police Department and the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwestern Illinois (MEGSI). The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ali Summers and Special Assistant United States Attorney Vanessa Lu.