CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — An accused straw purchaser from Chicago has been sentenced to a year in federal prison.
Ismael Sene, 25, purchased seven handguns from licensed firearm dealers in suburban Oak Lawn and Merrionette Park in 2019 and 2020, federal prosecutors said.
In June, he pleaded guilty to making false statements while acquiring
weapons, prosecutors said. In one purchase, they said, Sene identified himself as the actual buyer, even though he planned to pass the weapon to someone who could not legally possess a gun.
Sene also told the firearms dealers he was not an unlawful drug user, even though he regularly used marijuana, which is illegal under federal law, authorities said.
U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman last week sentenced Sene to a year and a day in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago reported.
“Straw purchasers, like the defendant, perpetuate the cycle of violence that is terrorizing this city,” a prosecutor said in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “The tools that drive that mayhem are firearms in the hands of dangerous people who are often legally prohibited from purchasing and possessing them.”
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