WILLIAMSON CO., Ill. - A convicted felon from Herrin will be spending a bit of time in the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) following a sentencing earlier this morning.
Williamson County State's Attorney Brandon Zanotti said that today (April 24, 2019), a Williamson County judge sentenced Dimitri R. Johnson, 23, of Herrin, to ten years in the Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC) for Unlawful Use/Possession of a Weapon by a Felon, and six years in DOC for Unlawful Possession of Cannabis (more than 100 grams but less than 500 grams), with the sentences to run concurrently.
Johnson will serve two years of mandatory supervised release following his release from DOC.
On February 21, 2019, following a three-day trial, a Williamson County jury found Johnson guilty of both the weapon and drug charges. The case stemmed from a December 2017 traffic stop, where Johnson, a felon, was found in possession of a loaded handgun and a large bag of cannabis.
Johnson has multiple prior felony convictions, including convictions for theft, burglary and aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer.
“It has always been the position of my office that we wholeheartedly support the Second Amendment and guns being in the hands of law abiding citizens," Zanotti said. "However, that was not the case here. Felons are not allowed to possess guns, and we take these types of cases very seriously. And as we see here with the judge’s sentencing today, there are consequences to these actions.”
