Federal Judge Sentences Chicago Man to Eleven Years in Prison for Illegal Gun Possession and Obstruction of Justice

 CHICAGO — A convicted felon from Chicago has been sentenced to eleven years in federal prison for illegally possessing a loaded gun and offering to pay witnesses to lie on his behalf.

RAMONE SHAFFERS illegally possessed the handgun and extended magazine on Oct. 16, 2016, in a parked car in the Woodlawn neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago.  Shaffers had previously been convicted of a felony and was not legally allowed to possess a firearm. 

Three passengers were in the car at the time of Shaffers’s illegal possession.  After Shaffers was arrested, he directed individuals to offer payment to the passengers in exchange for giving false testimony to law enforcement.

A federal jury in December 2019 convicted Shaffers, 38, on one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a felon, and one count of obstruction of justice.  U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp, Jr., imposed the sentence Tuesday in federal court in Chicago.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kristen deTineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.

“Standing alone, the defendant’s possession of a firearm with a serial number plate removed and an extended magazine, is a serious crime,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Albert Berry III and Kavitha J. Babu argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.  “However, the defendant went further.  In a selfish effort to absolve himself, the defendant attempted to disrupt the administration of justice.” 

Holding convicted felons accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods and Project Guardian – the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategies.  In the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. Attorney Lausch and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN and Guardian programs to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses.