BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) — A Bloomington man was sentenced Tuesday to 28 years in prison for being an armed habitual criminal.
Leon Ford, 27, was sentenced in McLean County Circuit Court after being found guilty at a jury trial in March of being an armed habitual criminal and for unlawful possession of a weapon, according to McLean County State’s Attorney Erika Reynolds.
He had faced up to 30 years in prison. Under state law, Ford must serve at least 85% of his sentence, the county’s top prosecutor said.
The charges stem from a Sept. 30, 2024, incident where officers with the Bloomington Police Department were called to the area of Tracy Drive after hearing that a possible drug sale was in progress, Reynolds said.
When they arrived, they found Ford standing outside a vehicle, drinking alcohol. When they turned on their lights, Ford ran away, she said.
After a chase, officers were able to catch Ford and subsequently arrested him. Near where officers caught him, they found a loaded handgun equipped with a “switch” which enables a handgun to be converted into a fully automatic weapon. An extended magazine was also found, Reynolds said.
At the time of his arrest, Ford was on mandatory supervised release, commonly known as parole, for another sentence, she said.
Due to his prior felony convictions — some of which were aggravated use of a weapon, possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of a firearm — he was barred from legally possessing a firearm or other weapon, Reynolds said.
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