ROCKFORD — A federal grand jury in Rockford has indicted a Loves Park man on drug and firearm offenses.
ORENTHO HURD, 27, is charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon, possession of a machine gun, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. According to the indictment, Hurd illegally possessed the cocaine and machine gun in Loves Park on Aug. 26, 2021. Arraignment in U.S. District Court in Rockford has not yet been scheduled.
The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Kristen de Tineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Explosives. The Rockford Police Department provided valuable assistance in the investigation. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Beckman and Robert Ladd.
The cocaine charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, while the machine gun and felon-related charges are each punishable by up to ten years. Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Holding drug dealers and illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) – the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy. In the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. Attorney Lausch and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.