Drizzt
Member
Chicago Tribune
May 6, 2003 Tuesday, CHICAGO FINAL EDITION
SECTION: Metro; Pg. 3; ZONE: C
LENGTH: 402 words
HEADLINE: Charges expected in guns seizure;
U.S. to prosecute N. Riverside man
BYLINE: By Virginia Groark, Tribune staff reporter.
BODY:
Federal charges are expected to be filed against a man who was detained Saturday after law enforcement officials found hundreds of guns in his North Riverside home in one of the largest weapons seizures in recent years, authorities said.
The man, who is a former police officer, was being held Monday in Broadview, where he had been detained after authorities raided his 6th Avenue house, said Special Agent Tom Ahern, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Tom Stanton, a Cook County state's attorney spokesman, said Monday that the federal government would press charges.
Maywood police, who received information that led to the raid, continued to investigate whether there was a link between the man and recent shootings in that suburb, including one last week in which seven people were injured, said Brian Black, a police spokesman. Shell casings from the shooting Thursday indicate a semi-automatic weapon was used, Black said.
On the surface there doesn't appear to be a connection to that incident, Ahern said. Authorities intend to enter shell casings from that shooting into a national database to try to determine if the same weapon was used in another crime, he said.
In addition, authorities intend to use the ATF's national tracing center to learn the history of all 420 guns discovered at the North Riverside home. The cache included handguns, shotguns and rifles and "thousands of rounds of ammunition," Ahern said.
"It's a very significant seizure," he said. "What makes it even more ominous is the fact that it was in a residential area."
Ahern said the man had been arrested on a gun-related charge in recent years, but was not convicted.
Authorities believe the man was selling firearms to people who are not legally allowed to possess them, such as convicted felons, Ahern said. He also allegedly sold firearms without keeping proper documentation and without the required three-day criminal background check, Ahern added.
In addition, the man is not a licensed federal firearms dealer, a requirement for someone to be in the business, he said.
Saturday's raid stemmed from information Maywood police received that led them "to believe that this individual was supplying the Maywood area with some weapons," Black said.
The Police Department contacted ATF and the agencies worked with state police and Chicago police, Ahern said.
May 6, 2003 Tuesday, CHICAGO FINAL EDITION
SECTION: Metro; Pg. 3; ZONE: C
LENGTH: 402 words
HEADLINE: Charges expected in guns seizure;
U.S. to prosecute N. Riverside man
BYLINE: By Virginia Groark, Tribune staff reporter.
BODY:
Federal charges are expected to be filed against a man who was detained Saturday after law enforcement officials found hundreds of guns in his North Riverside home in one of the largest weapons seizures in recent years, authorities said.
The man, who is a former police officer, was being held Monday in Broadview, where he had been detained after authorities raided his 6th Avenue house, said Special Agent Tom Ahern, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Tom Stanton, a Cook County state's attorney spokesman, said Monday that the federal government would press charges.
Maywood police, who received information that led to the raid, continued to investigate whether there was a link between the man and recent shootings in that suburb, including one last week in which seven people were injured, said Brian Black, a police spokesman. Shell casings from the shooting Thursday indicate a semi-automatic weapon was used, Black said.
On the surface there doesn't appear to be a connection to that incident, Ahern said. Authorities intend to enter shell casings from that shooting into a national database to try to determine if the same weapon was used in another crime, he said.
In addition, authorities intend to use the ATF's national tracing center to learn the history of all 420 guns discovered at the North Riverside home. The cache included handguns, shotguns and rifles and "thousands of rounds of ammunition," Ahern said.
"It's a very significant seizure," he said. "What makes it even more ominous is the fact that it was in a residential area."
Ahern said the man had been arrested on a gun-related charge in recent years, but was not convicted.
Authorities believe the man was selling firearms to people who are not legally allowed to possess them, such as convicted felons, Ahern said. He also allegedly sold firearms without keeping proper documentation and without the required three-day criminal background check, Ahern added.
In addition, the man is not a licensed federal firearms dealer, a requirement for someone to be in the business, he said.
Saturday's raid stemmed from information Maywood police received that led them "to believe that this individual was supplying the Maywood area with some weapons," Black said.
The Police Department contacted ATF and the agencies worked with state police and Chicago police, Ahern said.