GRANITE CITY MAN SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS FOR ILLEGAL POSSESSION OF FIREARMS

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Benny Davis, 37, of Granite City, Illinois, was sentenced in federal court 
on Monday, March 7, 2022, to 10 years in prison for possessing firearms while being a convicted 
felon. Davis was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release upon his release from 
prison.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Davis was a passenger in a vehicle that 
was stopped by the Hartford Police Department for traffic infractions. Police officers discovered a 
rifle, three shotguns and a stolen handgun during a search of the vehicle. The recovered firearms 
were all loaded at the time of the traffic stop. The officers also obtained videos of Davis firing 
the guns the day  prior  to  his  arrest.  Davis  admitted  to  being  a  convicted  felon  at  the 
 time  of  his  arrest  which prevented him from legally possessing firearms or ammunition.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the 
Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to 
be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together 
to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive 
solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most 
violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting 
reductions in crime.

The  investigation  was  conducted  by  the  Hartford  Police  Department  and  the  Bureau  of  
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Hoell.