East St. Louis Man Pleads Guilty to Firearm Offense
| U.S. Attorney’s Office January 09, 2012 |
On January 9, 2012, Jerry Blue, a 46-year-old East St. Louis, Illinois man pled guilty to two counts of 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. The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced at 11:00 a.m. on April 18, 2012, in United States District Court in East St. Louis, at which time he faces a maximum potential sentence of up to 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, not more than three years of supervised release, and a mandatory $100 special assessment on each count.
On May 14, 2011, law enforcement officers went to a residence on Tudor in East St. Louis, in response to reports that it was a drug house. Upon arrival, officers spoke with Jerry Blue. During a subsequent search, officers located a loaded Kimber, .45 semi-automatic pistol. In an interview with officers, Blue admitted that he was a felon and that he had purchased the firearm several months prior from an individual in East St. Louis, Illinois.
On September 24, 2011, East St. Louis police officers were dispatched to the area of 13th Street and Piggot Avenue in response to a complaint about shots fired. At the scene, officers noticed several individuals, including Jerry Blue. As Blue was being escorted to a police vehicle, he was found to be in possession of marijuana and a firearm.
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 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.
This case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Daniel T. Kapsak for prosecution.