Union County man sentenced to federal prison for gun offenses (DOJ)

BENTON, Ill. - A federal district judge sentenced a Wolf Lake man to 150 months' imprisonment after he admitted to possessing firearms as a felon.

Kyle M. Bond, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of felon in possession of a firearm and one count of receipt or possession of an unregistered firearm. Following imprisonment, Bond will serve three years of supervised release.

"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," said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft. "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."

According to court documents, on January 5, 2023, deputies with the Union County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant at the defendant's residence in Union County in connection to an investigation and located nine firearms on his property-six rifles and three handguns. Four of the nine firearms Bond possessed had obliterated serial numbers.

One of the firearms recovered by law enforcement was a short-barrel semi-automatic rifle, with an approximate barrel length of 12 ½ inches, that Bond did not register in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

Prior to Bond's indictment in 2023, he had been convicted of a felony offense in Missouri and therefore unable to legally possess firearms.

"Mr. Bond showed blatant disregard of federal laws that have been put in place to assure public safety," said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge, Bernard Hansen. "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 Union County Sheriff's Office and ATF contributed to the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. David Sanders prosecuted the case.