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Press Release

Belleville Resident Guilty Of Unlawful Possession Of A Firearm

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Illinois

Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on September 2, 2015, Jared L. Seats, 25, Belleville, IL, pled guilty to an Indictment charging him with the Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Previously Convicted Felon. Seats faces a term of imprisonment of not more than ten years, a fine up to $250,000, or both, and a term of supervised release of not more than three years. Seats also agreed to the forfeiture of the firearm he illegally possessed. Seats’ sentencing is scheduled for November 13, 2015, in East St. Louis, Illinois. Seats has been detained since his bond was revoked on August 24, 2015.

The charge arose when two individuals saw Seats with a firearm at his residence on January 31, 2015, and contacted the Belleville Police Department. During a search of the Seats’ residence that same day, officers recovered a Ruger, 22 caliber rifle from the residence, which Seats admitted that he possessed. Seats has a 2011 conviction for Unlawful Possession with Intent to Deliver Cannabis in St. Clair County, Illinois, and is thus prohibited from possessing a firearm by federal law.

The case was investigated by the Belleville Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.

Updated February 4, 2016