Peoria man, Alan Andrew Collins, age 39, finds himself staring down another prison term following his recent sentencing for firearms possession. This marks Collins' third trip to federal prison on similar charges, a tale of recurring run-ins with the law. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of Illinois, Collins—who resides on MacQueen Avenue in Peoria—has been handed a 55-month sentence followed by a three-year supervised release.
November of 2022 saw the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and Peoria Police descend upon Collins' abode, acting on a federal search warrant. The raid did not disappoint, as the officers discovered a loaded semi-automatic 9mm pistol casually resting on Collins' nightstand. Despite Collins' assertion that the firearm belonged to his girlfriend, his DNA and fingerprints were found on the gun. Collins, per documents on the case, was arrested shortly thereafter and has been in custody ever since. It should be noted that the maximum statutory penalties he faced could have been much steeper, going up to 15 years imprisonment.
His history is telling. With felony convictions dating back to 2004 and 2005, and a pair of federal convictions for similar firearm possessions in 2008 and 2014, the pattern appears nearly cyclical. Collins’ latest run-in carries weight not just for him personally but also as part of a greater narrative being woven into the community fabric through Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program mentioned by the Department of Justice as pivotal in the concerted effort to reduce violent crime and gun violence.
PSN's strategies are notably multifaceted, focused not just on zealously prosecuting but also engaging in deep-rooted community support. It's an approach that hopes to address not just the symptoms, but the systemic and communal causes of violence.
With his guilty plea entered in February 2024, this latest conviction places him once again behind bars.
