Chicago felon gets 8 years for illegally possessing handgun used to intimidate ex-girlfriend

A convicted Chicago felon was sentenced to eight years in prison Tuesday for illegally possessing a handgun he used to intimidate his ex-girlfriend.

Joseph Riley, 44, admitted to possessing the Sig Sauer P229 .40-caliber pistol at least four different times in 2015, according to a Justice Department news release. During one incident, Riley brandished the firearm to strike fear into his ex-girlfriend.

Riley was not allowed to possess any firearms due to his previous felony convictions, two of which were for illegally possessing guns.

“Each instance in which defendant possessed the gun was dangerous and threatening,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Kutcher said in the government’s sentencing memorandum.

The memorandum noted Riley’s prior convictions and the seriousness of the current offense as reasons for suggesting the eight-year sentence, which was above the normal sentencing guidelines.

Riley pleaded guilty to the crime earlier this year and was sentenced in federal court in Chicago.

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