Abingdon Man Sentenced to Seventy-Seven Months in Prison for Gun Crimes

PEORIA, Ill. – An Abingdon, Illinois, man, Micah Mowen, 44, was sentenced on April 26, 2023, to 77 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for possessing a shotgun with a barrel less than 18 inches long and for possessing a firearm as a felon.    

At the sentencing hearing in front of Chief U.S. District Judge Sara L. Darrow, the government proffered evidence that in August 2019, deputies from the McDonough County Sheriff’s Office found Mowen sleeping in a truck in an unauthorized area. Upon further investigation, they found a stolen handgun and a sawed-off shotgun in the truck. Mowen initially fled but was quickly apprehended. Mowen has been in the custody of the United States Marshal since his federal arrest in August 2020.

Mowen faced statutory penalties of up to ten years imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release, and up to a $250,000 fine for both counts.

The McDonough County Sheriff’s Office, Galesburg Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys  Jen Mathew and Sarah Seberger represented the government in the prosecution.

The case against Mowen is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.