Rock Island Man Sentenced to 120 Months for Drug and Firearms Offenses

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – A Rock Island, Illinois, man, Atoris Jaquez Slater, 28, of the 1700 block of 25th Street, was sentenced today to an aggregate 120 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (“crack”) and tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”); possession of a firearm as a felon; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crime. The sentence consists of concurrent 60-month terms of imprisonment for the drug trafficking and possession of a firearm as a felon convictions, to be followed by a consecutive 60 months for possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crime conviction.

Slater entered a plea of guilty in July 2021. Slater faced the following statutory penalties: 1) for possession with intent to distribute a detectable amount of crack and THC: up to 20 years in prison; 2) for possession of a firearm as a felon: not more than 10 years in prison, and; 3) for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime: five years to life in prison.

The Rock Island Police Department; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and Drug Enforcement Administration investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Mathew represented the government in the prosecution.