Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

CHICAGO — A convicted felon from southwest suburban Hickory Hills was sentenced today to more than six years in federal prison for illegally possessing several firearms with obliterated serial numbers.

STEVEN RILEY, 24, sold a 20-gauge shotgun, two rifles and 40 rounds of assorted ammunition to an individual for $2,500 in November 2014. Unbeknownst to Riley, the buyer was a confidential informant who was working at the direction of agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Riley had previously been convicted of two felonies prior to the gun sale.

Riley pleaded guilty last year to one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall imposed the 75-month sentence in federal court in Chicago.

"Firearms and firearm-related violence have plagued the City of Chicago for years, and continue to do so," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Palmore argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. "Conduct like that of the defendant in this case only contributes to this ongoing violence."

In addition to the shotgun and rifles, Riley admitted in a plea agreement that he sold other firearms and assorted ammunition to the informant from October 2014 to February 2015. These

additional sales netted Riley $3,600. In March 2015, agents executing a search warrant at Riley’s home in Hickory Hills discovered two loaded semi-automatic pistols and various ammunition, according to the plea agreement.

The sentencing was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Jeffery Magee, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Hickory Hills Police Department assisted in the investigation.

The government is represented by Ms. Palmore and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Pozolo.

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