Ali M. Summers Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois | U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois
A federal court has sentenced Kyle M. Bond, a 41-year-old man from Wolf Lake, Illinois, to 150 months in prison after he admitted to firearm-related offenses. Bond was convicted on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and for possessing an unregistered firearm. Following his prison term, he will be under supervised release for three years.
U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft emphasized the importance of gun control for public safety, stating, "In an effort to protect the public and help keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals, convicted felons lose their right to legally possess firearms. As this case demonstrates, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work to remove repeat criminal offenders who threaten the safety of our communities."
Court documents revealed that on January 5, 2023, law enforcement conducted a search at Bond's residence in Union County, leading to the discovery of nine firearms, including six rifles and three handguns. Among these, four firearms had their serial numbers obliterated. Notably, one recovered firearm was a short-barrel semi-automatic rifle with a barrel length of approximately 12 ½ inches, which Bond had not registered as required by law.
Bond's legal troubles stem from a previous felony conviction in Missouri, rendering him ineligible to possess firearms legally. Bernard Hansen, Special Agent in Charge at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, commented on the case by saying, "Mr. Bond showed blatant disregard of federal laws that have been put in place to assure public safety. As we did in this case, we will continue to work with the Union County Sheriff’s Office to ensure that safety of our communities."
The investigation involved collaboration between the Union County Sheriff’s Office and the ATF. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney J. David Sanders.
