Fairfield Man Charged With Possessing Stolen Firearms

Chance W. Young, 29, of Fairfield, Illinois, has been charged in United States District Court in Benton with possessing stolen firearms knowing or having reasonable cause to believe they were stolen, announced Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois. The indictment, returned by a Federal Grand Jury on September 4th, alleged that Young possessed two stolen firearms from on or about June 30th to July 1st, in Wayne County. Those firearms had allegedly been taken from a rural Wayne County home during a residential burglary occurring that weekend.

An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.

If convicted, Young faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release to follow his incarceration.

Following his initial appearance today in United States District Court in Benton, Young was ordered held without bond and remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal to await further proceedings. Young’s next scheduled court appearance is November 5th at 9:30 a.m. for a final pre-trial conference at the Federal Courthouse in Benton.

The case was investigated by the Carmi office of the Southern Illinois Drug Task Force and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James M. Cutchin.