April 1, 2015

Illinois Man Sentenced to Prison for Possessing a Firearm as a Felon

An Illinois man who purchased a handgun and more than 100 rounds of ammunition in Marion, Iowa, was sentenced to more than three years in prison yesterday in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Montarrance Wilson, age 27, from Chicago, Illinois, received the prison term after a January 5, 2015, guilty plea to a one-count indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

In a plea agreement, Wilson admitted that, on July 16, 2013, he purchased a handgun and more than 100 rounds of ammunition from a Marion, Iowa, man who had pawned the firearm. In exchange for $700, the man retrieved the firearm from the Marion pawnshop and sold it and the ammunition to Wilson. Later that same day, probation officers made an unannounced home visit to another felon’s apartment. Wilson fled when the officers knocked on the door. Inside, the officers found a bag belonging to Wilson containing the firearm and ammunition. Wilson was arrested in Illinois on these charges in November 2014, and was removed to this district to answer charges. Wilson was prohibited from possessing a firearm because he is a felon, having been convicted in 2007 of Deliver of Cocaine in Cook County, Illinois.

Wilson was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Wilson was sentenced to 37 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Wilson is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney C.J. Williams and investigated by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force and the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 13-CR-0084-LRR.