Man sentenced on firearms charges

Randy G. Massey, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced that on May 29, Frederick O. Goss, 41, of Mt. Vernon, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court in East St. Louis to more than 16 years (200 months) imprisonment, fined $750, and placed on three years supervised release.

Goss had previously pleaded guilty to a one-count federal indictment, charging him with possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon. His sentence was enhanced because the court determined that he was an armed career criminal.

The investigation in this case was a cooperative effort between the Joint Narcotics Unit of the Mt. Vernon Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, pursuant to their participation in the Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative.

Project Safe Neighborhoods is a joint and cooperative effort of the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Jefferson County State's Attorney's Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies directed at removing illegal guns and drugs from our communities.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney George Norwood.