A Springfield man with a rap sheet, Navell J. White, 44, has been sentenced to over six years behind bars after officers caught him with a gun during a traffic stop, federal authorities announced. White, who lives on the 1300 block of North 4th Street, received a 77-month jail term for being a felon in possession of a firearm, despite the possible statutory penalty that could soar up to 15 years, the U.S. Attorney's Office stated.
The sentencing rolled out on April 18, presided over by U.S. District Court Judge Colleen R. Lawless who highlighted White's history with the law, he's notably been entangled in episodes of domestic violence stretching back several years, the Justice Department reported. The man, a previously convicted felon, was pulled over back in September 2022 when cops discovered the Taurus G2 9mm pistol on him, a find that's now landed him the prison stretch and a subsequent three-year supervised release.
White, now under the watch of the United States Marshals Service since his federal arrest in February 2023, entered a guilty plea to the indictment on December 14, 2023. Apart from prison time and supervision, White's punishment also includes up to a $250,000 fine and a mandatory $100 special assessment.
The crackdown on White joins a larger law enforcement push in Sangamon County, Illinois to put a lid on gun violence, a joint mission spearheaded by the Springfield Police Department, Sangamon County State’s Attorney's Office alongside federal outfits like the ATF, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office; Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Seberger led the charge in White's prosecution, as part of the sweeping Project Safe Neighborhoods which aims to join hands across community and law enforcement lines to snuff out violent and gun-related crime, according to the Justice Department's release.
This chain of events falls under the umbrella of the revitalized Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a cornerstone program relaunched in 2021 that pulls together the might of law enforcement at all levels with community strands to forge neighborhoods resistant to the scourge of violence and the specter of guns; this strategy's bedrock lies in building trust within communities, propping community bases that prevent violence before it even sparks, setting clear enforcement priorities, and holding up a mirror to the outcomes.
