CHICAGO — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)), published as received.
CHICAGO — Five defendants have been indicted on federal firearm charges for allegedly trafficking firearms in Chicago this year.
The cases in Chicago are part of a larger, multi-district investigation that previously resulted in charges in the District of Colorado (click here to read a news release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado).
The defendants in the Northern District of Illinois were charged in separate indictments with conspiring to deal firearms without a license:
U.S. v. Salas-Ferrer, et al., 25 CR 421
LUIS SALAS-FERRER, 29, of Chicago, allegedly sold three handguns in Chicago in May and June of this year. The indictment accuses JOSE VARGAS-RON, 29, of Chicago, of selling a handgun in the city in May of this year. Salas-Ferrer and Vargas-Ron have pleaded not guilty to the charges. They have been ordered to remain detained in federal custody pending trial.
U.S. v. Romero-Sanchez, et al., 25 CR 424
ADRIAN ANDRES ROMERO-SANCHEZ, 24, MIGUEL ALEJANDRO CASTILLO-CEBALLOS, 26, and DAVID ANDRES HERMOSO-MAYOR, 23, all of Chicago, allegedly sold three semiautomatic rifles, a shotgun, and a handgun in May and June of this year. Castillo-Ceballos and Hermoso-Mayor also sold two semiautomatic rifles and three semiautomatic handguns in May of this year, the charges allege. In addition to the firearm sales, the indictment accuses Romero-Sanchez and Hermoso-Mayor of distributing ketamine and MDMA in Chicago this year. The three defendants are currently being held in law enforcement custody. Hermoso-Mayor has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Romero-Sanchez and Castillo-Ceballos have not yet been arraigned.
The indictments were announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, LaFonda Sutton-Burke, Director of the Chicago Field Office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and John R. Morris, Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Detroit Border Patrol Sector. Valuable assistance was provided by Homeland Security Investigations and the Chicago Police Department. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maureen Merin and Paul Schied.
“Our federal gun laws do not exempt foreign nationals or anyone else from being held accountable for illegally trafficking in firearms,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros. “We will work hand-and-glove with our law enforcement partners to arrest and prosecute anyone who violates our firearm laws, even if that requires us to track down and apprehend defendants from out of state. When we say accountability to the full extent of the law, we mean it.”
The public is reminded that indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
