Williamson County Man Sentenced on Charges Relating to Unlawful Dealing of Firearms

On February 13, 2018, Austin K. Sims was sentenced in United States District Court in Benton, Illinois on three charges relating to the unlawful possession and sale of firearms, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Donald S. Boyce, announced today. Sims, who was charged in a three-count indictment on July 12, 2017, was sentenced to 60 months of imprisonment and two years of supervised release. Sims previously pled guilty to all three counts.

Count One charged Sims with engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license, Count Two charged that Sims knowingly possessed a firearm while being an unlawful user of a controlled substances and Count Three charged Sims with making materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements to law enforcement agents during the investigation into his criminal conduct.

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with the assistance of the Marion, Illinois Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Liam Coonan and Amanda Robertson.