Centralia Burglar Terrell Cleggett Sentenced to 42 Months

GRIMY TIMES EXCLUSIVE: Centralia, Illinois resident Terrell D. Cleggett, 35, has been sentenced to 42 months in federal prison for possession of a firearm by a felon and being in possession of stolen firearms, according to the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Donald S. Boyce.

Cleggett’s sentence, handed down on February 21, 2017, also includes a $200 mandatory special assessment and three years of supervised release following his prison term. The charges stem from an investigation into the November 29, 2014, burglary of Buchheit’s of Centralia, where forty firearms and over a thousand rounds of ammunition were stolen.

Two co-defendants have already pled guilty in this case, receiving sentences of 60 months and 248 months, respectively. A juvenile accomplice was prosecuted by state authorities. Justin Gibson and Michael Rink, the two remaining co-defendants charged with the Buchheit’s burglary, have both entered guilty pleas and are currently awaiting sentencing.

Court records reveal that Cleggett acquired two of the stolen firearms from the juvenile accomplice, knowing or having reason to know they were stolen. Thirty-eight of the stolen firearms were eventually recovered by law enforcement, including the two used in Cleggett’s prosecution.

The investigation was conducted by agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Centralia Police Department, and the Clinton County States Attorney’s office. Assistant United States Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft is prosecuting the case.

RELATED: Centralia Man Pleads Guilty in Stolen Gun Conspiracy