From the U.S. Attorney:
Man Sentenced to More Than Ten Years in Federal Prison for Possessing Multiple Firearms While Trafficking Fentanyl in Chicago Suburbs
CHICAGO — A federal judge has sentenced a man to more than a decade in prison for possessing multiple guns, including a semiautomatic rifle, while trafficking fentanyl and other narcotics in the Chicago suburbs.
A jury last year found OMARI ANDREWS, JR. guilty of possessing an AR-15 style firearm and three handguns while trafficking fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, and marijuana in Mt. Prospect, Ill., in 2023.
Andrews also pleaded guilty prior to trial to distributing fentanyl and heroin in Westmont, Ill., Villa Park, Ill., Des Plaines, Ill., and Hillside, Ill., in late 2022 and early 2023.
Andrews, 26, of Mt. Prospect, Ill., has been detained in federal custody since his arrest in 2023.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang sentenced Andrews to ten years and three months in federal prison.
The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Matthew Scarpino, Special Agent-in-Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago. The Skokie, Ill. and Evanston, Ill. Police Departments provided valuable assistance.
“The defendant possessed a small arsenal of guns and ammunition in his apartment to protect his drug trafficking activity,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alejandro G. Ortega argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.
“Drugs, and especially fentanyl, are a scourge to the public health and to law enforcement across the country, and a stain on the community.”
Holding firearm and drug offenders accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). In the Northern District of Illinois, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses.
