East St. Louis Man Indicted for Firearm Offenses

A. Courtney Cox, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on February 17, 2010, a federal grand jury sitting in East St. Louis returned an indictment charging ANDRE P. INGRAM, age 47, of East St. Louis, Illinois, with two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The indictment alleges that the offenses occurred on or about February 2, 2010, and August 5, 2009, in St. Clair County.

An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge and is entitled to a fair trial at which the Government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Each count carries a potential maximum sentence of not more than 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and not more than three years of supervised release after completing any term of imprisonment.

INGRAM was arrested and appeared in United States District Court in East St. Louis on February 18, 2010, for arraignment on the charges. INGRAM was ordered detained without bond and was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal. Trial in the case is currently scheduled for April 19, 2010, at 9 a.m. in East St. Louis.

Investigation into the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Illinois State Police, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. This investigation arose out of the U.S. Attorney’s initiative to combat violent crime in and around East St. Louis.

The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Deirdre A. Durborow for prosecution.