East St. Louis Man Sentenced for Firearm Offense

Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on October 8, 2010, DERRICK ADAMS, age 35, of East St. Louis, Illinois, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis, to 21 months’ imprisonment, three years’ supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.

The violation took place in St. Clair County, Illinois, on November 20, 2009. According to information contained in the stipulation of facts filed at the time of the plea, ADAMS possessed a pistol which was recovered during a traffic stop in East St. Louis.

The case resulted from the efforts of the WAVE (Working Against Violent Elements) Task Force, which focuses its efforts on combating violent crime in East St. Louis, Washington Park, and surrounding communities. WAVE was formed in November 2009, and is a collaboration of law enforcement officers from the Illinois State Police, the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwestern Illinois (MEGSI), the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, the East St. Louis Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and the United States Marshal Service. The WAVE Task Force receives financial support through the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative, a nationwide federal program which endeavors to address gun-related violence. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen B. Clark.