What is Armed Habitual Criminal 720 ILCS 5/24-1.7?

Armed Habitual Criminal is a special gun possession charge that has a tougher sentence for people with bad criminal histories. The law is found at 720 ILCS 5/24-1.7 and states:

A person commits the offense of being an armed habitual criminal if he or she receives, sells, possesses, or transfers any firearm after having been convicted a total of 2 or more times of any combination of the following offenses:
(1) a Forcible Felony;
(2) unlawful use of a weapon by a felon; aggravated unlawful use of a weapon; aggravated discharge of a firearm; vehicular hijacking; aggravated vehicular hijacking; aggravated battery of a child as described in Section 12-4.3 or subdivision (b)(1) of Section 12-3.05; intimidation; aggravated intimidation; gunrunning; home invasion; or aggravated battery with a firearm as described in Section 12-4.2 or subdivision (e)(1), (e)(2), (e)(3), or (e)(4) of Section 12-3.05; or
(3) any violation of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act or the Cannabis Control Act that is punishable as a Class 3 felony or higher.

What does “forcible felony” mean?

There are specific crimes which are forcible felonies, and other crimes that can be considered forcible felonies. The law states that “‘forcible felony’ means treason, first degree murder, second degree murder, predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, aggravated criminal sexual assault, criminal sexual assault, robbery, burglary, residential burglary, aggravated arson, arson, aggravated kidnaping, kidnaping, aggravated battery resulting in great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement and any other felony which involves the use or threat of physical force or violence against any individual.” 720 ILCS 5/2-8.

Do I need a lawyer if I am charged with Armed Habitual Criminal?

Yes, because you should be represented by an attorney on any crime that can result in the loss of your freedom. Specifically, the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution gives you the right to a lawyer, and the Supreme Court case of Gideon v Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963) provides state appointed lawyers (public defenders) for indigent people. Especially with offenses like this one that involves a mandatory jail sentence.

How can they charge me if it is not my gun? Will the case get dismiss if the gun belonged to someone else?

The crime is not that you “owned” the gun. The crime is that you had the gun in your possession. It is not a defense to possession of a gun that you did not own it. So, saying that the gun belong to your brother, cousin, or friend will still result in you being charged with the gun.

Is Armed Habitual Criminal a Misdemeanor or Felony?

Armed Habitual Criminal is a Felony. 720 ILCS 5/24-1.7(b). A felony is a crime that is punishable by more than 1 year of imprisonment.

What level of felony is Armed Habitual Criminal?

Armed Habitual Criminal is a Class X felony, making it one of the most serious charges in the State of Illinois. 720 ILCS 5/24-1.7(b). The order of felonies in Illinois from most to least serious goes: Class X, followed by Class 1, Class 2, Class 3, and then Class 4. 

Can I go to Prison? What is the Sentencing Range for Armed Habitual Criminal?

Since Armed Habitual Criminal is a Class X felony, its sentencing range is 6 to 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. 730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-25(a).

Am I eligible for Court Supervision?

No, because Court Supervision is not a possible outcome in felony cases. 730 ILCS 5/5-6-1(c).

Can I get Probation?

No. Armed Habitual Criminal is a Class X Felony with a mandatory prison sentence.

What is the Extended Sentencing Range for Armed Habitual Criminal?

Under Illinois’ extended sentencing guidelines, if you have been convicted in the last 10 years of a felony, and that felony was of the same class or worse when compared to your current charge, then the maximum allowable sentence is doubled. see 730 ILCS 5/5-5-3.2(b). That means that the extended sentencing range for Armed Habitual Criminal is 30 to 60 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. 730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-25(a).

How is Armed Habitual Criminal Different from Armed Violence?

With Armed Habitual Criminal, a person possesses a gun after having previously committed certain crimes. With Armed Violence, a person possesses a gun while currently committing certain crimes. A person can be charged with both Armed Habitual Criminal and Armed Violence at the same time if he or she has a gun, has a bad criminal history, and is currently engaged in certain felonies. For example, if you have a prior robbery and residential burglary conviction, and you are currently charged for possessing cocaine while armed with a handgun, then you can be charged with both Armed Violence and Armed Habitual Criminal.

What percentage of your sentence do you serve for Armed Habitual Charges?

Armed Habitual Criminal is an 85% sentence. 730 ILCS 5/3-6-3(a)(2)(ii). So, if you receive a sentence of 10 years in the Illinois Department of corrections for Armed Habitual Criminal, the most you would actually serve is 8.5 years assuming you do not receive any other credits.

How to keep a conviction off your record?

There are several ways to keep an Armed Habitual Criminal conviction off your criminal record. Here are some of those ways:

How to win the case at Trial?

At trial, the State must show that you knowingly possessed the gun. It is not enough that you were near the location where the gun was found. The State must present evidence that you knew the gun was there. Challenging whether the State can prove that you possessed the gun that they recovered is one way to beat a gun possession charge.

Self-Defense and/or Necessity. If you do not have a FOID or Conceal Carry license, and you momentarily grabbed a gun for the purposes of self-defense, then you should take a look at a recent court case captioned People v. Crowder, 2018 IL App (1st) 161226. In that case, 3 individuals attacked the defendant and the defendant’s father. The defendant grabbed his father’s gun and shot up in the air to scare the 3 assailants and to buy time and get away. The police ended up charging the defendant with Agg. UUW. The Appellate Court overturned the conviction, holding that both self-defense and necessity are valid defenses to unlawful possession of gun cases. Another good case on this issue is People v. Gullens, 2017 IL App (3d) 160668.

How to win the case at Motion?

If there were some issues with the recovery of evidence in your case, a motion to suppress might be the solution. A criminal defense attorney can challenge the lawfulness of police conduct. If the Court finds that police failed to follow proper procedure, the Court can prevent the State from using what was recovered from the improper search. This could result in a dismissal of your case.

Pro Tip: If your Armed Habitual Criminal Conviction is based off of a prior Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon case, you should know that a prior version of the AGG. UUW law was held unconstitutional. See People v. Aguilar, 2 N.E.3d 321 (Ill. 2013). This means that the State cannot use that conviction as the basis for your Armed Habitual Criminal. See People v. McFadden, 2016 IL 117424. If this applies to you, a criminal defense lawyer can work on both vacating your earlier conviction and getting your current charge of Armed Habitual Criminal dismissed.

How to Keep a Conviction off Your Record with a Plea Agreement (Reduction on the Charge)?

There are two major reasons why it would be a win if the State wants you to plead guilty to Unlawful Possession of a Weapon by a Felon instead of Armed Habitual Criminal. The first reason is that your sentencing range will be on a class 2 felony instead of a class X felony. The second reason is that you are no longer at risk of Illinois’ Three Strikes Rule. In Illinois, your third class X felony can result in a life sentence. 730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-95.

Other Firearm Guides

If you are looking for information about:

• FOID Act Violation cases, then check out our guide to FOID Act Violation cases in Illinois.
• Unlawful Possession of a Weapon by a Felon, then check out our guide to Unlawful Possession of a Weapon Felon cases in Illinois.
• Unlawful Use of a Weapon or Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon, then check out our guide to Unlawful Use of a Weapon cases in Illinois.
• Armed Violence, then check out our guide to Armed Violence cases in Illinois.

Hire Illinois Gun Criminal Defense Lawyer Clyde Guilamo

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