Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Rock Island Man Pleads Guilty to Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Robert Barnes, 29, of the 900 block of 21st Street in Rock Island, Illinois, pleaded guilty on November 3, 2021, to unlawfully possessing a firearm as a felon. Sentencing for Barnes has been scheduled for March 2, 2022, in federal court in Davenport, Iowa.
At the change-of-plea hearing before Chief U.S. District Court Judge Sara Darrow, Barnes admitted to possessing a firearm despite knowing that it was unlawful to do so because of his prior felony conviction. In presenting a factual basis for the conviction, the government described how, in November of 2019, a Rock Island police officer stopped a car in which Barnes was a passenger. During the stop, the officer discovered an uncased and loaded handgun under Barnes’s seat.
Barnes remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals while awaiting sentencing.
At sentencing, Barnes faces statutory penalties of up to ten years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.
The Rock Island Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alyssa Raya is representing the United States in the prosecution.