East St. Louis Man Sentenced To 77 Months In Prison For Possession Of A Firearm By A Convicted Felon

Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that Reginald L. Beck, 39, of East St. Louis, Illinois, was sentenced in federal district court in East St. Louis for the crime of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.

Beck was sentenced to 77 months in federal prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, a $100 special assessment, and a fine of $300, following his plea of guilty on March 12, 2015. The charges relate to an incident that occurred on January 1, 2015, in Centreville, Illinois, where police officers attempted to stop Beck for speeding. Beck sped off, abandoned his car, and fled on foot. The officers saw Beck throw something into some nearby weeds as he ran. After apprehending Beck, officers found two loaded firearms in the weeds – a Bryco .38 caliber semi-automatic pistol and a Taurus .357 magnum revolver; Beck admitted to the officers that he possessed the guns and threw them into the weeds.

Beck was previously convicted of possession of firearm by a felon in the Southern District of Illinois, on June 27, 2002. Beck is currently serving a sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections for Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault. The sentence imposed today in federal court runs consecutive (in addition) to Beck’s state conviction. The sentencing judge also ordered forfeiture of the firearm and the ammunition contained therein.

The case was investigated by members of the Centreville Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Donald Boyce.