Man Who Sold Handguns Stolen From Train Gets 5 Years In Federal Prison

CHICAGO — A Chicago man has been sentenced to more than five years in federal prison for trafficking a shipment of dozens of handguns stolen from a South Side railyard, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Warren Gates, 49, was in possession of 24 stolen firearms, 17 of which he bought illegally from men who had stolen 111 guns from a Chicago railroad car in the early morning hours of April 12, 2015, according to authorities.

The guns were aboard a cargo train on its way from a Ruger factory in New Hampshire to Spokane, Wash. The train was parked overnight on the South Side of Chicago when the co-defendants broke locks on a train car and stole the guns.

Gates admitted purchasing the 17 stolen firearms so he could sell them. Before his arrest, he sold 11 of them.

“The defendant purchased these stolen firearms for the purpose of reselling them to those in our community who would be most interested in purchasing stolen, unregistered and untraceable firearms from an unlicensed firearms dealer,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Parente said in a sentencing memo. “Those individuals who are willing to pay premiums for firearms on the black market are the individuals who cannot legally purchase firearms and those individuals who cause the most damage to this city by their possession of illegal firearms.”

Law enforcement officials have recovered 16 of the stolen gun at various locations and crime scenes around Chicago.

Gates pleaded guilty last year to possessing a firearm by a convicted felon. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp Jr. sentenced Gates to 63 months in federal prison.