MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Ka’Toine Richardson (a.k.a. Kado), 20, Madison, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 4 years in federal prison for receiving a handgun while facing state felony charges. This prison term will be followed by three years of supervised release.
On March 18, 2022, Richardson faced eleven felony charges in Dane County, Wisconsin cases. Charges included burglary armed with a dangerous weapon and burglary to building or dwelling, bail jumping felonies, possession of a firearm after being adjudicated delinquent, resisting an officer, and 1st and 2nd degree recklessly endangering safety. These charges are pending, and Richardson is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Despite these charges, Richardson obtained a firearm on March 18, 2022, by stealing it from another person. Richardson possessed the firearm until March 23, 2022, when he was arrested.
In imposing the four-year sentence, Judge Peterson reflected on Richardson’s criminal history, his pending state charges, and the threat he posed to public safety. In addressing Richardson, Judge Peterson stated that he “makes people unsafe” and that the “community reasonably perceives [Richardson] as a threat.“ The four-year sentence, Judge Peterson concluded, specifically deterred Richardson from endangering the public, and, with three years of federal supervision, gave Richardson on opportunity to turn his life around.
The charge against Richardson was the result of an investigation conducted by the Fitchburg Police Department with assistance from the Madison Police Department, the Dane County Sheriff’s Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. U.S. Attorney Timothy M. O’Shea prosecuted this case.
This case 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 to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.