Man charged with illegally dealing up to 60 guns in Chicago

A man has been charged with illegally possessing and dealing up to 60 firearms, at least two of which ended up in the hands of Chicago gang members.

Lazaro Salas, 32, of Chicago, faces one count of dealing firearms without a license and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office.

From September 2013 to November 2015, Salas illegally sold between 40 and 60 firearms that he had bought through a straw purchaser, prosecutors said. Two of the guns were later found in possession of gang members.

Salas, who is a convicted felon, purchased four guns on Jan. 7 from an undercover ATF agent in a store parking lot near his home, prosecutors said. He paid $350 for two guns, and agreed to buy the other pair for $200 and an ounce of marijuana.

The indictment was returned Tuesday in U.S. District Court. The charge of dealing firearms without a license is punishable by up to five years in prison, while being a felon-in-possession of a firearm carries a maximum sentence of 10 years and a $250,000 fine.