James L. Porter, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced that late Wednesday morning, a federal jury in East St. Louis found Rodney A. Mathes, 49, of Cahokia, Illinois, guilty of stealing firearms from a federal firearms licensee and possession of firearms by a felon.
Evidence at trial showed that on Jan. 19, 2015, Mathes and his brother-in-law, Michael Khoury, broke into the Rural King in Swansea, Illinois, stealing sixteen firearms before fleeing the scene. Mathes, a previously convicted felon, faces a minimum of fifteen years in prison based upon his criminal history. Sentencing has been scheduled for September 8, 2016, in front of the Honorable Michael J. Reagan.
The investigation into this crime was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Swansea Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laura V. Reppert and Special Assistant United States Attorney Shane B. Kelbley.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
