Alorton Man Pleads Guilty to Firearm Offense
| U.S. Attorney’s Office October 29, 2012 |
On October 29, 2012, Shaun Murphy, a 45-year-old Alorton, Illinois man pled guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced at 11:00 a.m. on February 22, 2013, in United States District Court in East St. Louis, at which time he faces a maximum potential sentence of up to 10 years’ imprisonment; a fine of up to $250,000; not more than three years of supervised release; and a mandatory $100 special assessment.
The case resulted from the efforts of the WAVE (Working Against Violent Elements) Task Force, which focuses its efforts on combating violent crime in East St. Louis, Washington Park, and surrounding communities. WAVE was formed in November 2009 and is a collaboration of law enforcement officers from the Illinois State Police; the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwestern Illinois (MEGSI); the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department; the East St. Louis Police Department; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and the United States Marshals Service. The WAVE Task Force receives financial support through the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative, a nationwide federal program which endeavors to address gun-related violence.
On July 20, 2010, WAVE officers were on patrol in the John DeShields Federal Housing Complex in East St. Louis, Illinois, when they saw six individuals standing around apartment 33A. When officers approached the individuals, they observed a firearm under a nearby tree, approximately 10-15 feet away. Murphy admitted to meeting with an individual to purchase the firearm. Murphy had previously been convicted of a felony punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year, namely aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
This case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Deirdre A. Durborow for prosecution.