Rockford weapons dealer sentenced to 8.5 years in federal prison

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — A federal judge has sentenced Joseph Garza, 40, of Rockford, to eight and a half years in prison for selling illegal firearms to an informant with the ATF.

Garza admitted in a plea deal that he sold seven firearms through brokers to the buyer, who was working with the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

The deals were conducted between November 2017 and January 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Garza was sentenced in the U.S. District of Northern Illinois in Rockford on Tuesday.

In addition to his sentence, Garza must serve an additional 3 years on parole.

The sentencing is part of a U.S. Justice Department prosecution initiative called Project Safe Neighborhoods, designed to reduce violent crime in northern Illinois.

A federal grant is enabling courts to use an intelligence-led approach to prosecutions that target the most violent criminals.