Swansea Man Involved in Fatal Car Accident Sentenced for Possessing Firearm As a Felon

Donald S. Boyce, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced that Eric L. Eiskant, 33, of Swansea, was sentenced yesterday in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois to 33 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon to be followed by three years of supervised release. The Honorable Judge Staci M. Yandle ordered that the sentence imposed run consecutively to any sentence on charges Eiskant faces in the Circuit Court of St. Clair County.

Evidence showed that on January 20, 2017, Eiskant was involved in a fatal vehicle accident that occurred in the area of St. Clair Avenue and 79th Street in East St. Louis. A witness on scene told officers that he went to check on Eiskant’s well-being following the accident, and Eiskant handed him a loaded firearm stating, "I got to get out of here. I’m going to get in trouble." The witness dropped the firearm on the ground and kicked it under Eiskant’s vehicle, and after officers arrived on scene, he directed them to where the firearm was located. Agents then located a loaded .25 caliber Beretta pistol under the vehicle Eiskant had been driving. Records showed that Eiskant’s deceased grandfather had originally purchased the pistol.

Eiskant is currently indicted in St. Clair County Case Number 17-CF-727 with four counts of Aggravated Driving Under the Influence, two counts of Reckless Homicide, and one count of Possession of a Controlled Substance.

The investigation was conducted by the Illinois State Police with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura V. Reppert.