U.S. Attorney Morris Pasqual | U.S. Department of Justice
A Rockford man has been sentenced to over eight years in federal prison for trafficking fentanyl and illegally possessing a firearm. U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston sentenced Michael Mallett, 27, to 103 months in federal prison. Mallett pleaded guilty last year to possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Mallett admitted in a plea agreement that on August 19, 2020, he knowingly possessed 7.39 grams of fentanyl with the intent to sell it on the streets. He also admitted that during this time, he was in possession of a Glock Model 32, which had been converted into a machinegun using an after-market device known as an "auto sear."
The sentence was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; and the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodora Anderson.
"Holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) – the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy," according to officials involved in the case. In the Northern District of Illinois, law enforcement partners have used PSN to address various violent crime issues, particularly those involving firearms.
