Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Convicted Felon Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing Loaded Gun on South Side of Chicago
CHICAGO — A convicted felon has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for illegally possessing a loaded handgun in the Avalon Park neighborhood of Chicago.
ANTOINE JACKSON, 31, of Chicago, illegally possessed the loaded gun in the 8200 block of South Woodlawn Avenue on March 4, 2018. Jackson initially ran from Chicago Police officers who attempted to handcuff him, but he was apprehended a short time later. The semiautomatic handgun had a 16-round magazine and was capable of accepting an even larger capacity magazine.
Jackson was not legally allowed to possess a firearm after previously being convicted in the Circuit Court of Cook County for armed robbery and attempted armed robbery.
Jackson pleaded guilty earlier this year in the federal case to one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a felon. U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow imposed the 15-year sentence Wednesday in federal court in Chicago.
The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kristen deTineo, 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.
“Despite being a convicted felon, just three years after getting paroled on his state cases, Jackson was again in possession of a firearm on the streets of Chicago,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared C. Jodrey argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “Jackson’s criminal record and offense conduct demonstrate a continued disrespect for the law.”
Holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Guardian and Project Safe Neighborhoods – the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategies. In the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. Attorney Lausch and law enforcement partners have deployed the Guardian and PSN programs to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district.
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