Continuing the U.S. Attorney’s activity over the last year:
Firearm Trafficking and Firearm Theft Prosecutions
“Straw purchasers and firearms traffickers enable unlawful possession of guns and the violence that may follow,” said U.S. Attorney Lausch.
“We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners, including our colleagues in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana, to hold accountable those who engage in illicit firearm transactions.”
o Earlier this month, WAYNE ADAM TUCKER, of Albion, Ind., was charged with illegally selling 39 handguns and assault rifles in the Chicago area. In setting up the deals with an individual who was confidentially working on behalf of law enforcement, Tucker explained that he obtained the guns from people who purchased them at gun shows in Indiana. The probe was led by FBI and CPD.
o Last month, BRIAN HAYWOOD, of Hammond, Ind., was charged with “straw purchasing” guns in Indiana on behalf of a convicted felon in Chicago. On three occasions this summer, Haywood allegedly purchased the guns and falsely certified on federal forms that he was the actual buyer. The investigation was led by the FBI.
o A suburban Chicago man was sentenced in January to eight years in prison for stealing guns from a licensed firearms dealer. KEVIN CULPS, of Dolton, stole or attempted to steal guns from firearms dealers in Manteno, Loves Park, and Tinley Park. Two co-defendants were also convicted and sentenced to prison terms. ATF led the investigation, with assistance from the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office, CPD, and Police Departments of Loves Park, Manteno, Tinley Park, and Lombard.
o OMRAN ISMAIL, of Burbank, was sentenced in December to a year and a half in prison for conspiring to straw purchase handguns on behalf of a woman who allegedly tried to smuggle the firearms into Egypt. The guns were discovered in the woman’s checked luggage at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago as she attempted to board a flight to Cairo, via London. The investigation was conducted by HSI, CBP, and CPD.
= = = = =
More tomorrow.