Two Kankakee Felons Sentenced for Firearms Possession

URBANA, Ill. - Two Kankakee men with prior felony convictions have been sentenced in federal court for illegal possession of guns. William D. Roper, 35, was sentenced on April 10, to 7 ½ years in federal prison. On April 7, Andre Davis, 33, was ordered to serve seven years in prison. The men have been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since their respective arrests in separate cases in May 2016.

On Oct. 11, 2016, Roper, of the 600 block of S. Poplar Ave., pled guilty to possession of a .32 caliber semi-automatic pistol. At the time Roper possessed the gun, in April 2016, he had prior felony convictions in Kankakee County.

On Oct. 5, 2016, Davis, of the 300 block of N. Harrison, pled guilty to possession of firearms on three occasions. Davis admitted that at the time he possessed the guns, a .38 caliber revolver on Mar. 17, 2015; a .22 caliber pistol on Mar. 24, 2015; and a .45 caliber pistol on May 21, 2015, he had prior felony convictions that barred him from possession of a firearm.

The cases are the result of ongoing investigations related to gun violence in the Kankakee area by the Kankakee Area Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Kankakee Police Department. Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene L. Miller represented the government in the prosecution of Roper; Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine V. Boyle prosecuted the case against Davis.