Man Sentenced to More Than 10 Years for Firearm Violations in Rockford

ROCKFORD — A 40-year-old man has been sentenced to 126 months in federal prison for illegally possessing firearms and violating the terms of his supervised release. Steven Baxter of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, admitted he threatened multiple restaurant employees at a Wing Stop in Rockford in 2022 while carrying a handgun and later possessed additional firearms during a traffic stop in Kane County. Baxter was serving supervised release from a prior federal firearms conviction at the time, and his actions violated court-imposed conditions. The investigation involved the U.S. Attorney’s Office, ATF, Rockford Police, and Kane County Sheriff’s Department.