Rockford Man Sentenced to over a Year in Prison for Straw Purchasing Firearms (DOJ)

ROCKFORD - A Rockford man was sentenced yesterday to thirteen months in federal prison for straw purchasing three firearms.

JAMARIUS HOLMAN, 25, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of knowingly providing a false and fictitious written statement to a federally licensed dealer of firearms, misrepresenting that he was the actual buyer of the firearms, when, in fact, he knew he was not the actual buyer.

Holman admitted that in May of 2023, he purchased three firearms in two separate transactions for an individual who was legally prohibited from owning a firearm and did not have a valid Firearm Owners Identification. Holman falsely completed firearms transaction records indicating that he was the actual transferee/buyer of the firearms.

Holman was sentenced on Thursday by U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston in federal court in Rockford.

The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of ATF's Chicago Field Division.

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 tackle a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Ladd.