Army soldiers, gang members charged in gun trafficking ring tied to 2021 mass shooting in Chicago Lawn
CHICAGO (CBS/AP) -- A mass shooting a year ago in Chicago Lawn is being linked to a gun trafficking operation in which federal authorities say Army soldiers bought guns in Tennessee and Kentucky to supply to gang members on the South Side.
Federal authorities say nine members of a Chicago street gang conspired with three Army soldiers based in Kentucky to get illegal guns to Chicago, and that those weapons were used in several shootings, including a mass shooting in the Wrightwood neighborhood.
Eight people were shot near 79th and Maplewood in March 2021. One died at the scene, and the others were seriously wounded.
"Through the use of crime gun intelligence gleaned from tracing, five of the recovered guns were determined to have been purchased in the Clarksville, Tennessee area. ATF is the sole agency in the United States authorized to trace firearms for law enforcement," said Kristen de Tineo, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF office in Chicago.
The soldiers — Demarcus Adams, 21; Jarius Brunson, 22; and Brandon Miller, 22 — were enlisted in the Army and stationed at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, where they would legally purchase guns from local dealers in Tennessee and Kentucky, prosecutors charged. The soldiers are accused of selling them to members of the Gangster Disciples street gang in the Pocket Town neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, according to the 21-count indictment.
The indictment charges the group with conspiring to violate federal firearms laws, among other crimes. If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison.
The case is part of the Justice Department's push to investigate and prosecute gun trafficking amid rising crime across the U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has vowed to prioritize prosecutions of firearms traffickers and so-called "straw purchasers," who legally purchase firearms to sell them to people who can't legally poses guns, often in states with more restrictive gun laws.
"The Justice Department will spare no resources to hold accountable criminal gun traffickers," Garland said at a news conference Friday. "There is no hiding place for those who flood our communities with illegal guns. It does not matter where you are, or how far away you are. If you illegally traffic guns, we and our law enforcement partners nationwide will find you."
Prosecutors allege Miller would receive orders from members of the Gangster Disciples in Chicago for specific guns to purchase and he, Brunson and Adams would then buy them from dealers in Clarksville, Tennessee and Oak Grove, Kentucky, and give them to gang members, who paid through money transfer apps, including Zelle and CashApp. Miller also advertised that he had 1,000 rounds of ammunition available for sale, prosecutors say.
"Between Dec of 2020 and April 2021 over 90 guns were illegally purchased in Tennessee and Kentucky, and sold or otherwise transferred to the Pocket Town Gangster Disciples street gang in Chicago," said Tennessee Middle District U.S. Attorney Mark Wildasin.
Federal authorities say, in addition to the guns used in the mass shooting in Chicago Lawn, another gun purchased in the same scheme was used in a killing at a Chicago barbershop in January 2021.
The nine others charged in the indictment are: Blaise Smith, 29; Rahaeem Johnson, 24; Bryant Larkin, 33; Corey Curtis, 26; Elijah Tillman, 24; Lazarus Greenwood, 23; Dwight Lowry, 41; and Dreshion Parks, 25, all of Chicago; along with Terrell Mitchell, 27, of Davenport, Iowa. Two people who were alleged to be part of the conspiracy were killed "as a result of gang violence, which was facilitated by the firearms illegally transferred to individuals in the Chicago," prosecutors say.
The indictment spells out how Miller would exchange messages with his associates in Chicago to negotiate the prices of the guns.
"The silver one a 380 u still want it it's a steal," Miller wrote to Lowry in December 2020, the indictment says. Lowry wrote back, "Yup can't beat it," according to court papers.