Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Peoria, Illinois, Man Sentenced to 40 Months in Prison for Possession of a Firearm as a Felon
PEORIA, Ill. – A Peoria, Illinois, man, Denzel L. Jordan, 29, of the 1200 block of North University Street, was sentenced on July 20, 2023, to 40 months in federal prison for possession of a firearm and ammunition, to be followed by three years of supervised release.
At the sentencing hearing before Senior U.S. District Judge Michael M. Mihm, the government presented evidence that in October 2022 Jordan, a felon, was stopped by Peoria Police after committing a traffic violation. When officers learned that Jordan’s license was suspended, they ordered him to exit his car but Jordan refused, causing police to forcibly remove him. During the resulting scuffle, an officer located a loaded handgun tucked into the back of Jordan’s waistband. The semiautomatic pistol had a live round in the chamber and 16 rounds of ammunition in the attached magazine. The backpack Jordan was wearing was found to contain two additional magazines, each fully loaded with 15 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition. The backpack also contained 56 additional rounds of .40 caliber ammunition.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Jordan in October 2022. He entered a guilty plea in March 2023. Jordan has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service while his case has been pending.
The statutory penalties for a possession of a firearm as a felon are up to 15 years’ imprisonment, a possible $250,000 fine, and up to a three-year term of supervised release. Jordan has forfeited the Smith & Wesson M&P pistol and the ammunition.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Peoria Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald L. Hanna represented the government in the prosecution.
The case against Jordan is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
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