Joliet Man Sent Back To Prison After Having Gun While On Release: Feds

JOLIET, IL — A 50-year-old Joliet man has been sentenced to spend two years in prison after he was found to have a weapon while on a supervised court release for a previous drug conviction, federal prosecutors announced on Thursday.

Gary McDonald was found to have the weapon in October while in a parking lot in the 1000 block of Sherman Street in Joliet, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois said. McDonald had been released from federal prison in 2020 after serving time for a drug conspiracy conviction.

He was to remain on court-supervised release until 2025, during which time he was not allowed to, among other things, possess a firearm or commit another federal or state crime, prosecutors said.

“Violating supervised release by possessing a loaded firearm is a serious offense that carries with it serious consequences,” Morris Pasqual, acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said in a statement issued on Thursday. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to prosecute serious violations of supervised release as appropriate.”

A federal judge revoked McDonald’s release in November during a court hearing after determining that McDonald had violated the terms of his release. He was immediately ordered to return to prison for two years and three months, prosecutors said.