Quincy man sentenced to seven years in prison for possessing firearm as convicted felon in 2020

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Donte Clausell, 36, of Quincy was sentenced on Oct. 31 by U.S. District Judge Colleen R. Lawless, to six years in prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

Lawless also sentenced Clausell to one year in prison, to be served consecutively to his other sentence, for violating his supervised release. At the time he unlawfully possessed the firearm, Clausell was serving a sentence of supervised release for a drug distribution conviction in the Eastern District of Missouri.

A press release from the United States Attorney’s Office Central District of Illinois said Clausell knowingly possessed a firearm containing an extended ammunition clip that was loaded with 31 rounds of ammunition on Sept. 26, 2020. Clausell was indicted in November 2020 and pled guilty in February 2023.

The statutory penalties for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon are up to 15 years of imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to a three-year term of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the Quincy Police Department and the Illinois State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Z. Weir represented the government in the prosecution.

The case against Clausell is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.

Charges of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm are still pending in Adams County. Clausell and Stefan K. Crider were arrested by the Adams County Sheriff’s Department on Aug. 6, 2020, after a July 4, 2020, shooting on Illinois 57. Crider pled guilty in May 2022 to an aggravated discharge of a firearm charge, a Class 2 felony, and was sentenced to seven years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Clausell’s last court appearance in Adams County was on Feb. 28, 2023.