CHICAGO ― More than 100 assorted pistols, revolvers, rifles,
and shotguns have been seized and 14 Chicago area defendants are facing federal
firearms charges as a result of an investigation that ended yesterday and was
led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF agents,
together with Chicago police and other state and local law enforcement
partners, executed arrest and search warrants yesterday and seized 17 firearms
from a residence in Gary, Ind. The investigation, which began in January,
relied in part on three confidential informants, including one who posed as a
broker for an individual who sold firearms overseas.
Nine defendants were arrested yesterday while three others
were already in state custody.Nine separate criminal complaints were unsealed
charging 12 defendants with being felons-inpossession of firearms, one with
dealing firearms without a federal license, and one with illegal possession of
a machine gun with an obliterated serial number. Those arrested yesterday
remain in federal custody pending detention hearings, which Magistrate Judge
Jeffrey Cole scheduled for Thursday and Friday in U.S. District Court.
This investigation is the culmination of ATF’s 2014 Firearms
Trafficking and Violent Crime Strategy, also known as the “Chicago Initiative,”
a four-month mission involving concentrated resources and efforts to attack
violent crime associated with illegal firearms and narcotics. During the
broader initiative, and including yesterday’s developments, ATF agents arrested
90 state and federal defendants, executed 25 search warrants, and seized more
than 270 firearms, as well as seized more than four kilograms of marijuana,
more than a kilogram of heroin, and nearly a kilogram each of powder cocaine
and crack cocaine.
“This investigation, coupled with our enhanced efforts over
the last four months, makes a difference by reducing the potential for violence
that is associated with the illegal possession and sale of firearms,” said Carl
J. Vasilko, Special Agent-in-Charge of ATF’s Chicago Field Division.
“Every gun we take out of the hands of individuals who
allegedly possess and sell them illegally helps reduce the risk of violent
crimes occurring with those weapons,” said Zachary T. Fardon, United States
Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said: “You have
heard me say it repeatedly and I will say it again, we have too many illegal
guns flooding our streets. But every little bit helps, and certainly this
mission and confiscating as many weapons as we did will keep our communities
safer.”
The Illinois State Police, the Cook County Sheriff’s
Department, the Lake County, Ind., Sheriff’s Department, and task force
officers from the Indiana State Police, and the Gary, Ind., Police Department
also assisted in the investigation.
According to the complaints, in March of this year, one of
the confidential informants (CI-3) identified an individual known as “Batman,”
who agents later identified as JOHN THOMAS, as one of CI-3’s sources of
illegally obtained firearms. CI-3 and Thomas had previously agreed that CI-3
would pay Thomas approximately $100 for every handgun and $150 for every long
gun purchase that Thomas arranged for CI-3. Thomas allegedly arranged firearms
transactions between CI-3 and other defendants, including ANTHONY LOGAN, who in
turn allegedly arranged additional firearms transactions between CI-3 and other
defendants. CI-3 also allegedly purchased firearms directly from STEVE THOMAS
and WESLEY PICKETT. During these controlled purchases with the defendants, CI-3
posed as a firearms broker for an individual who sold firearms overseas. The
complaint affidavits together detail 45 firearms that CI-3 purchased during the
investigation. All of those guns were among a total of 108 firearms that were
purchased or seized during the investigation.
Details of the nine complaints follow:
JOHN THOMAS, aka “Batman,” 38, and DANIEL BINGMON, aka
“Tiny,” 36, both of Chicago, were each charged with being a felon-in-possession
of a 20-gauge shotgun. At the direction of ATF agents, CI-3 allegedly purchased
a total of five firearms from Thomas and Bingmon on April 30 and May 8;
ANTHONY LOGAN, aka “Snake,” 29, of Chicago, was charged with
being a felon-inpossession, and DANIEL JONES, 23, of Chicago, was charged with
selling firearms without a federal license. Between April 10 and June 27, CI-3
allegedly purchased a total of 17 firearms, including six handguns and 11 long
guns, from Logan and Jones;
LARRY McINTOSH, aka “Ten,” 38, of Gary, Ind., and CHARLES
HAWKINS, 31, of Richton Park, were charged with being a felon-in-possession of
various firearms. Between June 2 and July 2, McIntosh allegedly possessed nine
firearms that he sold to CI-3, and Hawkins allegedly possessed three of those
firearms that he delivered to CI-3 on McIntosh’s behalf;
TYRECE McCLINTON, 24, and RODEARL McELROY, 21, both of
Chicago, were each charged with being a felon-in-possession of a firearm.
McClinton, McElroy, and John Thomas allegedly sold a .38 caliber pistol to CI-3
on May 13;
TRAISON WATSON, 22, of Country Club Hills, was charged with
illegally possessing and transferring a machine gun with an obliterated serial
number. CI-3 allegedly purchased two firearms, including the machine gun and a
7.62 caliber rifle, from Watson and John Thomas on May 16. The machine gun had
been modified from its original configuration as a 9 mm pistol making it
capable of firing more than one shot with a single pull of the trigger,
according to the complaint affidavit;
STEPHEN CARLOS, aka “Steve-O,” 26, of Chicago, was charged
with being a felon-inpossession of a 12-gauge shotgun. CI-3 allegedly purchased
a gun from Carlos and Logan on April 30, and two firearms from Carlos, Logan,
and Jones on June 4;
STEVE THOMAS, 38, of Chicago, was charged with being a
felon-in-possession of a firearm. Steve Thomas allegedly sold CI-3 four
firearms between May 19 and July 8;
WESLEY PICKETT, 25, of Dolton, was charged with being a
felon-in-possession of a irearm. Pickett allegedly sold CI-3 four firearms
between March 20 and July 1; and
KENNETH SMITH, 30, and RICO SMITH, 38, both of Chicago, were
each charged with being a felon-in-possession of a firearm. Both Smiths and
Logan allegedly sold a .40 caliber pistol to CI-3 on May 20.
Being a felon-in-possession of a firearm carries a maximum
sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Dealing firearms without a
federal license carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a
$250,000 fine, and illegal possession of a machine gun with an obliterated
serial number carries a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence
under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S.
Attorneys Nicole Kim and Lela Johnson.
Criminal complaints are not evidence of guilt. The
defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the
government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment