ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — A man connected to several shootings across Rockford has been sentenced to 8 years in federal prison on the charge of illegal possession of a machine gun.

As part of his plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, Brooks admitted that he had used a “switch” device to turn a handgun into an automatic weapon.

Brooks was arrested in November 2021 after the police department’s Gang Crime Unit spotted him at an apartment complex in the 7600 block of Cherryvale N. Blvd.

In February 2021, Brooks was arrested after allegedly pointing a gun at a victim in a vehicle in the 3300 block of Sunnyside Avenue.

Brooks was arrested in June 2020 in connection with a shooting at Concord Commons apartments.

Prior to that, in April 2020, Brooks was arrested in the Orton Keyes housing project after police found a weapon in his car during a traffic stop.

The sentencing is part of a new Department of Justice program for punishing illegal firearm ownership, called Project Safe Neighborhoods.