A Villa Park convicted felon has been handed an 18-year-long sentence by DuPage County for unlawful possession of a weapon and aggravated unlawful restraint. Timothy Jackson, 32, appeared before Judge Margaret O’Connell for sentencing, following convictions in two unrelated cases. According to a statement from DuPage County State's Attorney's Office, Jackson, who was on bond at the time for an earlier weapons charge, was found guilty of entering his former girlfriend's residence and holding her against her will while brandishing a gun.
The series of events leading to Jackson's convictions began on January 8, 2020, when he was charged with possession of a loaded semi-automatic pistol at a Wheaton 7-Eleven store. Even after posting the necessary 10% of his $75,000 bond and getting released, Jackson found himself embroiled in further legal trouble. He was accused of the home invasion of his former girlfriend and threatening her life on October 22, 2021, before the police could apprehend him moments later, as he was fleeing the scene in a gas station parking lot.
DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin stressed the severity of Jackson's actions, stating, "Mr. Jackson is a convicted felon and as such has forfeited his right to ever legally possess a firearm," he added, "The fact that Mr. Jackson continued to illegally possess a weapon, even while out on bond for unlawful possession of a weapon, demonstrates his complete lack of respect for the rule of law." Berlin's office acknowledged the efforts of the Wheaton Police Department and Assistant State's Attorneys Denis Cahill, Kelly McKay, and Kristin Sullivan for their roles in securing the conviction.
In the bench trial presided over by Judge O’Connell on December 11, 2024, Jackson was found guilty of two counts of Unlawful Possession of a Weapon by a Felon in the Wheaton 7-Eleven case. Previously, a jury had convicted him on July 26, 2024, for the charges stemming from the Childs Street incident. Aggravated unlawful restraint and additional weapons charges culminated in Jackson's consecutive sentences of eight and ten years, respectively, totaling eighteen years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
