DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Northern District of Illinois

For Immediate Release

Thursday, June 8, 2017
Joel R. Levin
, United States Attorney

Convicted Felon Pleads Guilty to Illegally Possessing Handgun at Suburban Shooting Range and Obstructing Law Enforcement Investigation into the Matter

CHICAGO — A convicted felon admitted in federal court today that he illegally possessed a handgun at a suburban shooting range and then obstructed a law enforcement investigation into the matter.

LABAR SPANN, 38, also known as “Bro Man,” possessed and discharged the handgun in a firing range at Midwest Sporting Goods in Lyons on Sept. 14, 2014, according to a written plea agreement. Spann went to the range with two other individuals, and he posted numerous videos and photographs of the visit on his Instagram profile, the plea agreement states. One photograph depicted the silhouette of a person as the shooting target, with holes in the head and chest. According to the plea agreement, Spann posted a caption for the photograph that read: “y’all know I had to go first just to show my [expletive] how this [expletive] work lmao I do this [expletive].”
Spann had previously been convicted of a felony and was not lawfully allowed to possess a firearm.

Spann, of Chicago, pleaded guilty to one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a felon, three counts of obstruction of justice, and one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. The conviction carries a maximum sentence of 70 years in prison. U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp Jr. scheduled sentencing for Sept. 5, 2017.

The guilty plea was announced by Joel R. Levin, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Celinez Nunez, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and Eddie T. Johnson, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. The investigation was conducted in conjunction with the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA).

The obstruction charges stemmed from Spann’s efforts to influence and impede a witness’s testimony before the federal grand jury that was investigating the incident at the firing range. The witness had initially stated truthfully to law enforcement that she accompanied Spann to the firing range and saw Spann load the gun and fire it, the plea agreement states. Soon thereafter, Spann communicated with the witness and others, intending to cause the witness to withhold truthful testimony from the grand jury.

When the witness was called before the grand jury on Jan. 29, 2015, she falsely testified that Spann did not shoot the gun at the range, the plea agreement states. In subsequent text messages between Spann and the witness, Spann asked if she could obtain the grand jury transcript of her testimony to give to him, the plea agreement states.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter Salib, Timothy Storino, Tobara Richardson and William Dunne.

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Chicago Field Division