EAST ST. LOUIS - Michael Davis, 32, of East St. Louis, Illinois, was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment in the United States District Court, Benton, for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Previously Convicted Felon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Donald S. Boyce, announced today.
The Court also ordered Davis to pay a $100 special assessment and to serve a term of three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Davis has been in custody since his arrest on August 17, 2016.
Court documents establish that, on August 17, 2016, Fairview Heights police received a report of shots fired at a residence within Fairview Heights city limits. Officers responded to the residence, and upon their arrival, spoke to a neighbor who stated he had heard several shots.
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As officers approached the residence at issue, they heard the sound of a weapon being “racked.” Officers then heard three rapid shots coming from the rear of the residence. Three individuals, including Davis, were present at the residence and taken into custody by Fairview Heights police.
Later, officers recovered a cellular telephone video that depicts Davis firing an LAR-15 semiautomatic rifle three times in the back yard of the residence at issue. Information from the video establishes someone took the video on the same date and at the same time as officers’ response to the residence. Court documents further establish that, prior to August 17, 2016, Davis was convicted of a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment of more than one year.
The Fairview Heights Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation of this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas Biersbach prosecuted this case.
