Man Gets 11 Years For Role In Gun Heist From South Side Rail Yard
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man convicted of helping steal more than 100 guns in a 2015 freight train burglary has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Patrick Edwards, 38, of Chicago, was sentenced to 132 months in prison by U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp Jr. in federal court Thursday, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
Edwards pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a stolen firearm earlier this year, prosecutors said.
On April 12, 2015, Edwards and several others burglarized a cargo train that was parked overnight in Chicago while it was en route from a Ruger factory in New Hampshire to Spokane, Washington, prosecutors said. The group made off with more than 100 guns and Edwards kept 13 for himself.
Edwards sold the 13 guns on the black market, prosectors said. As of Thursday, 34 of the 104 stolen guns have been recovered at crime scenes and other locations in the city and the surrounding area.
Authorities have charged 11 people in connection with the burglary; nine have been convicted and sentenced, or are awaiting sentencing, prosecutors said.
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