Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Chicago Man Sentenced to Nine and a Half Years in Federal Prison for Attempting to Fire Loaded Gun at Federal Agent
CHICAGO — A Chicago man was sentenced today to nine and a half years in federal prison for attempting to fire a loaded gun at federal agents and task force officers while holding a toddler.
JOSEPH HAMMOND, 35, of Chicago, pleaded guilty earlier this year to assaulting a federal officer and using a firearm during a crime of violence. U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah imposed the sentence after a hearing in federal court in Chicago.
On June 3, 2020, agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives approached Hammond near the 6800 block of South Sangamon Street in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood while investigating a report of a man holding a gun and a toddler. As the agents and officers approached in a vehicle, Hammond pointed the gun at an agent and said, “move along.” Hammond pulled the trigger, but it misfired.
Hammond then ran from the area while holding the toddler. The agents pursued Hammond and arrested him nearby. Neither the toddler nor the agents were injured.
The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Jeffrey L. Matthews, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.
“By running through Englewood at 1:00 a.m. and brandishing a loaded firearm at law enforcement, defendant threatened the lives of the law enforcement officers, the public, and his own family,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Misty N. Wright argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “It is this rush to threats and violence that is getting people killed in our communities.”