Rock Island, Ill. – Rodger A. Heaton, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois, announced that Willie Brown Parks, a.k.a. “Squirrel,” of Rock Island, Illinois, was sentenced today to term of 20 years in federal prison. Parks pled guilty in May 2008 to possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine; possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and, being a felon in possession of a firearm.

U.S. District Judge Michael M. Mihm sentenced Parks to serve 15 years in prison for the drug offense followed by a mandatory consecutive term of five years for the gun offenses. Parks has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and will be transferred to the federal Bureau of Prisons to serve the prison term.

Parks pled guilty to possession on August 1, 2007, of at least five grams of crack cocaine with intent to distribute and that possession of a Beretta 9mm handgun despite having three previous convictions for possession of a controlled substance.

The charges against Parks were investigated by the Rock Island Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John K. Mehochko.