Federal Grand Jury Indicts Two Quincy Residents for Firearms Offenses

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A federal grand jury returned indictments on August 9, 2022, against the    following individuals:

Audrey Ohenmus 25, of Quincy, Illinois, is charged with both transferring a firearm to a prohibited person, Murquise D. Wooden, and aiding and abetting the possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, Murquise D. Wooden on July 17, 2022. The penalty for transfer of a firearm to a prohibited person is up to 15 years imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a $250,000 fine. Ohenmus was ordered to be released on bond with conditions by United States Magistrate Judge Karen L. McNaught on August 25, 2022.

Murquise D. Wooden, also of Quincy, is charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, a felon, on July 17, 2022. The penalty, in light of previous criminal convictions alleged by the government, is a minimum of 15 years and up to a life term of imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a $250,000 fine. United States Magistrate Judge Karen L. McNaught ordered the defendant to be remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service on September 7, 2022.

The charges were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Illinois State Police, and the Quincy Police Department, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Seberger is representing the government in the case prosecutions.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is merely an accusation; each defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.