Rutland man gets 7 years for gun charge

A Rutland man was sentenced Friday to seven years in prison for a gun charge, but his time will be dwarfed by a 45-year term he previously drew in Woodford County.

David Allen Mays, 42, appeared Friday in La Salle County Circuit Court and entered a guilty plea to one count of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, a Class 2 felony carrying an extended sentence up to 14 years in prison.

As part of the plea, La Salle County prosecutors threw out two more weapons charges from a December 2022 seizure in Rutland. There, police seized an AKS 762 rifle (for which Mays has now pleaded guilty) along with other firearms and body armor. Mays, who had long ago been convicted of attempted murder, is not permitted to hold weapons.

Mays’ seven-year sentence will run concurrently with a 45-year term in Woodford County, where he was convicted of armed violence. The Woodford County charges took precedence and the La Salle County charges were held in abeyance.

Mays declined an opportunity to address Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. before sentencing Friday.