East St. Louis Man Sentenced for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm

An East St. Louis man, Casey M. Rigsby, 20, was sentenced in United States District Court, East St. Louis, for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Previously Convicted Felon, to the maximum statutory term of 120 months (10 years) in prison, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Rigsby was also ordered to pay a $250 fine, a $100 special assessment, and to serve three years’ supervised release following imprisonment (also the maximum term of supervised release available). There is no parole in the federal system. Rigsby has been in custody since his arrest on July 15, 2011.

“As the Court correctly recognized, this individual is a thoroughly dangerous and violent young man. Thankfully, no one was hurt in this incident. Hopefully, this sentence will not only affirm the effectiveness of the WAVE and our local law enforcement partners, but will serve to deter other young persons from taking up firearms,” said United States Attorney Wigginton. “For those reasons and more, I applaud the wisdom of the Court in passing the sentence that it did in this case,” he noted.

According to court documents, on July 15, 2011, Centreville police officers conducted a traffic stop on the driver of a car for disobeying a stop sign. The registration on the car was for a different vehicle. The driver acknowledged that his driver’s license was suspended and that he had no insurance, and that there was a warrant for his arrest. Officers asked the front seat passenger and the back seat passenger (Rigsby) to step out of the car. Rigsby attempted to use his foot to conceal a firearm under the seat. The officer recovered a Sig-Sauer, Model P220, .45 caliber, semi-automatic pistol, which was loaded with seven live rounds in the magazine and one live round in the chamber.

Following his arrest, Rigsby admitted possession of the firearm and said he tried to conceal it because he is prohibited from possessing firearms as a convicted felon. He further stated that the front seat passenger was recently shot, and the front seat passenger and the driver were planning to show him the residence of the shooter. He admitted bringing the loaded firearm with him when he got in the car.

Rigsby has a prior felony conviction for Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon, which occurred on August 3, 2010, in St. Clair County, Illinois.

The investigation of the case was handled by the Centreville Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). At Rigsby’s sentencing hearing today, members the FBI WAVE (Working Against Violent Elements) Task Force testified regarding their dealings with Rigsby. The case agent also testified regarding information Rigsby provided about his criminal activities following his arrest.

The WAVE Task Force focuses its efforts on combating violent crime in East St. Louis, Washington Park, and surrounding communities. WAVE was formed in November, 2009, and is a collaboration of law enforcement officers from the Illinois State Police, the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwestern Illinois (MEGSI), the East St. Louis Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The WAVE Task Force receives financial support through the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative, a nationwide federal program which endeavors to address gunrelated violence.

The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Kit Morrissey.