Indiana man learns sentence after trafficking 15 guns to Cook County
CHICAGO - An Indiana man was sentenced to federal prison this week for trafficking 15 guns from Indianapolis to the Chicago area in 2022.
Devante T. Brown, 29, of Indianapolis, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a federal firearm charge.
According to federal prosecutors, Brown and a co-defendant, Corey Sartin, 21, of Indianapolis, transported the firearms from Indianapolis to the Chicago area in the spring and summer of 2022 and then sold the guns to undercover law enforcement officers on three separate occasions.
- On April 9, 2022, Sartin sold a handgun to undercover officers in Lynwood, Illinois.
- On May 31, 2022, Brown and Sartin sold four handguns and AR-style rifles with extended magazines to undercover officers in Chicago's Pullman neighborhood.
- On June 24, 2022, Brown and Sartin sold four semiautomatic handguns, four semiautomatic rifles and two privately made "ghost guns" to undercover officers in Calumet City, Ill. "Ghost guns" are firearms that contain no identifiable serial number and were manufactured from parts collected from various sources.
Prior to one of the deals, Brown stated in a text message to the undercover officers, "I come across guns all day long. We gone do good business together."
On Tuesday, a judge sentenced Brown to 10 years in prison.
Sartin also pleaded guilty to a firearm charge and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison.