A Rockford man has received an eight-year sentence for unlawfully having a gun, reflecting a focused effort to target firearm offenses via federal prosecution. Charles Jackson, 26, was sentenced after pleading guilty to illegal possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.
Jackson's admission in a plea agreement made clear that during an attempt to escape from the Rockford Police Department in May 2022, he handled a modified handgun, equipped with 25 rounds of ammo, and one in the chamber. It's illegal for someone like Jackson, with a record of previous convictions, to possess a firearm under federal law.
The case was presided over by U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston, who decided Jackson's fate in a federal court hearing in Rockford on a Friday. The sentencing announcement was made by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge at the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodora Anderson representing the government during the proceedings.
This sentencing aligns with the aims of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which emphasizes the importance of federal prosecution in holding illegal firearm possessors accountable. In the Northern District of Illinois, partners in law enforcement and the U.S. Attorney’s Office utilize the PSN program to confront a range of violent crime, particularly those involving firearms, challenges as part of a broader strategy to reduce gun violence in the region.
