A Rockford man, identified as Michael Mallett, faces a sentence of over eight years in federal prison, as confirmed by U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston on Tuesday. His crimes include trafficking the powerful opioid fentanyl and the illegal possession of a firearm. Mallett, 27, had confessed to the charges late last year after being apprehended, according to a statement obtained by the U.S. Department of Justice.
In the plea agreement, sentenced on August 19, 2020, Mallett admitted that he possessed with intent to sell 7.39 grams of fentanyl. At the same time, he was caught with a converted Glock Model 32, an act of admitting owning a lethal tool turned more deadly by an after-market device known as an "auto sear." The device effectively transformed the handgun into a machine gun.
Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, along with Christopher Amon, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, announced the sentencing made possible with the assistance of the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department.
The U.S. Department’s strategy considers the prosecution of illegal firearm possession crucial, a strategy that the U.S. Attorney’s Office and law enforcement partners have activated within the Northern District of Illinois.
