Man gets 9 years in prison on Ogle County weapon charge

OREGON – A Rockford man has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to possessing a weapon as a felon.

Jesse Alar, 37, pleaded guilty Nov. 7 to unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. Judge John "Ben" Roe sentenced Alar to 9 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

The charge followed a March 8 incident on Interstate 39, near the Baxter Road exit, in northeastern Ogle County.

"On March 8, the Illinois State Police responded to a complaint about a driver who pointed a handgun at a victim on Interstate 39 in Ogle County," Ogle County State's Attorney Mike Rock said in a news release Friday. "The trooper located the suspect vehicle near the Baxter Road exit on Interstate 39 and the defendant was identified as the suspect."

Rock said police located a Taurus handgun inside of the defendant's vehicle during the investigation.

Alar had prior felony convictions in Winnebago County, Rock said.

Unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon is a Class 2 felony with a sentencing range of 3-14 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, followed by 12 months of mandatory supervised release.

An arrest warrant was issued March 27 for Alar after he failed to appear in court on a felony charge of being an armed habitual criminal and misdemeanor charges of driving while under the influence of alcohol and aggravated assault.

Alar was charged March 26 with the Class X felony of being an armed habitual criminal. In that charge, Alar was accused of knowingly possessing the handgun after being convicted of the Class X felony of unlawful use of a weapon as a felon in Winnebago County in 2017 under the Illinois Controlled Substances Act.