DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Northern District of Illinois

For Immediate Release

Thursday, October 18, 2018
John R. Lausch, Jr.
, United States Attorney
Contact: AUSA Assigned

Convicted Felon Sentenced to More than 5 Years in Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing a Loaded Handgun in Western Suburb

CHICAGO — A convicted felon has been sentenced to more than five years in federal prison for illegally possessing a loaded semi-automatic handgun in a west suburb of Chicago.
 
MARK HILL possessed the gun on June 17, 2016, in Broadview. Hill had previously been convicted of a felony and was not legally allowed to possess a firearm. After his arrest, Hill attempted to obstruct justice by urging his girlfriend to lie on his behalf.
 
Hill, 41, of Broadview and Chicago, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a felon. U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman on Tuesday sentenced Hill to five years and ten months in federal prison.
 
The sentencing was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Celinez Nunez, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Valuable assistance was provided by the Broadview Police Department, Bellwood Police Department, and Hillside Police Department.
 
"Possessing a firearm as a convicted felon is a serious offense and creates wholly unnecessary risks to public safety," Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin E. Kelly argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.
 
Evidence in the case revealed that Hill stored the loaded handgun and additional ammunition under a mattress in the bedroom of his girlfriend’s apartment. After his arrest, Hill telephoned his girlfriend from jail on numerous occasions. Hill urged his girlfriend to lie under oath concerning the location of evidence that police found in the apartment. Hill also told his girlfriend that he would coach her testimony, requesting that she "come see me so you tell ‘em everything I tell you to say."
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Chicago Field Division