Dropped Gun Could Result in Minimum 15-Year Sentence

East St. Louis man pled guilty on April 29, 2011, to an indictment charging him with the unlawful possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Robert Brooks, Jr., 49, of East St. Louis, Illinois, whom the United States contends is an armed career criminal, could face, if the court agrees that Brooks is an armed career criminal, a term of imprisonment of at least 15 years up to life, a $250,000 fine, and a term of supervised release of not more than five years. Brooks also agreed to forfeit the gun that he illegally possessed. Sentencing is scheduled for August 12, 2011, in East St. Louis, Illinois. Brooks has been detained since his arraignment on February 23, 2011.

The violation occurred on October 4, 2010, when a member of a WAVE detail saw the Brooks place a gun next to a chain link fence in East St. Louis after he saw the members of the WAVE detail.

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, and the United States Marshals 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 assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.