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CHICAGO - A 25-year-old man has been sentenced to a year in prison for straw purchasing guns in suburban Chicago.
Ismael Sene in 2019 and 2020 bought a total of seven handguns from licensed firearms dealers in Oak Lawn and Merrionette Park. During one of the purchases, officials say Sene falsely certified that he was the actual buyer.
Sene purchased at least one of the guns for a person whom he had reason to believe was a convicted felon, officials said. Convicted felons under federal law may not purchase or possess a firearm.
Sene in each purchase also falsely claimed he was not an unlawful drug user when he regularly used cannabis — a violation of federal law.
In June, Sene pleaded guilty to making false statements in connection with purchasing a firearm. Last Friday, a judge sentenced Sene to a year and a day in federal prison.
"Straw purchasers, like the defendant, perpetuate the cycle of violence that is terrorizing this city," Assistant U.S. Attorney James P. Durkin argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. "The tools that drive that mayhem are firearms in the hands of dangerous people who are often legally prohibited from purchasing and possessing them."