AURORA (Sun-Times Media Wire) - An Aurora man was charged with selling guns he reported stolen earlier this month to a convicted felon with gang ties in the western suburb.
Latrell English, 22, was charged with a misdemeanor count of unlawful purchase of a firearm with intent to deliver and a felony count of disorderly conduct for filing a false police report, according to the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office.
On Feb. 3, English told Aurora police that the guns had recently been stolen out of the trunk of his car, prosecutors said. In addition, he claimed to know the person who stole them.
However, investigators found that one of the guns in question had been seized and held in an evidence lockup for several months, prosecutors said. Further investigation revealed that English bought the guns in September of last year and profited from reselling them to the convicted felon, who can’t legally possess a firearm.
“There is no doubt about it that illegal gun sales as alleged in this case are fueling crime throughout the entire region,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. “What I find particularly troubling about the allegations in this case is that at least one of the guns was allegedly purchased with the intent of providing that weapon to a known felon who is prohibited from possessing any firearms.”
English is being held on $5,000 bond at the DuPage County Jail awaiting a Tuesday court date, according to the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office.