A Rockford resident has been sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison for illegal firearm possession. Martel Williams, 33, pleaded guilty earlier this year to possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon. According to his plea agreement, Williams admitted that on December 1, 2023, he had a loaded semiautomatic firearm and sold it to a confidential informant.
U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston sentenced Williams on October 30, 2025, to 87 months in federal prison.
The sentencing was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the ATF’s Chicago Field Division. The Rockford Police Department assisted with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodora Anderson represented the government.
“Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is focused on holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution,” according to the statement from authorities. “In the Northern District of Illinois, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to tackle a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses.”
