Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
ROCKFORD — A Rockford man has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison for possessing with the intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine and possessing a loaded firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities.
JOVINO RAMIREZ, 35, pleaded guilty earlier this year to knowingly and intentionally possessing cocaine and methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, and possessing a loaded handgun in furtherance of his drug trafficking crime. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston sentenced Ramirez to 78 months in federal prison.
Ramirez admitted in a plea agreement that following a traffic stop in May 2024 he was in possession of a bag containing 19.1 grams of cocaine and 1.9 grams of methamphetamine, which he tried to conceal during his encounter with the police. He also possessed a loaded handgun beneath the driver’s seat of his vehicle. Ramirez admitted he intended to sell the cocaine that he possessed.
The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Christopher C. Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives. The Illinois State Police provided assistance in the investigation. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew M. Rosati and Lisa R. Munch.
Holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). In the Northern District of Illinois, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses.