Rockford Man Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison for Possessing a Firearm as a Felon in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A Rockford, Ill., man, Joshua Mathies, 28, of the 800 block of North Court Street, was sentenced on February 8, 2024, by Senior U.S. District Judge Sue Myerscough to 48 months’ imprisonment to be followed by a 3-year term of supervised release, for possessing a firearm as a felon.

At the sentencing hearing, the government presented evidence that Mathies had taken a semi-automatic weapon into a Springfield bar on the night of his arrest and then attempted to flee when approached by police, who had been notified by a fellow bar patron about Mathies’ possessing the gun.  As he was trying to flee, Mathies was tasered. At the time of his arrest, Mathies was on parole from the Illinois Department of Corrections for a previous gun offense.

Mathies has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service since his arrest on May 14, 2023.

The statutory penalties for possession of a firearm by a felon are up to 15 years’ imprisonment, up to a $250,000.00 fine, and up to a three-year term of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the Springfield Police Department with assistance from the Sangamon County Sheriff, the Illinois State Police, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sierra Senor-Moore represented the government in the prosecution.

The case against Mathies 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.