Felon gets 7 years in prison for selling more than 75 guns

A convicted felon has been sentenced to seven years in prison for brokering the sale of more than 75 guns.

John Thomas, 33, who is also known as “Batman,” pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of illegal possession of a firearm by a felon and one count of dealing firearms without a license, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Thomas brokered at least 23 transactions involving the sale of 77 guns, including rifles, shotguns and handguns, according to the feds. Some of the guns had obliterated serial numbers or were previously reported stolen.

One of the sales happened on July 23, 2014, when Thomas arranged a meeting between an anonymous man, Jamel Davis and someone cooperating with the feds. The transaction, involving the sale of two .38-caliber revolvers, happened in Davis’ garage in the South Side Auburn Gresham neighborhood.

Davis was convicted of illegal possession of a firearm by a felon by a federal jury last year and was sentenced to two years in prison, according to the feds.

Thomas admitted to either obtaining the firearms himself and then selling them, or arranging for the owner of the firearms to sell the guns in exchange for a fee to set up the transaction, according to the feds. Unbeknownst to Thomas, several of the buyers were cooperating with law enforcement.

Thomas was previously convicted of a felony and was not legally authorized to possess any firearms.

The case against Thomas arose out of a larger federal investigation involving controlled firearm sales to cooperating individuals that has removed more than 100 illegal guns from the streets of Chicago, according to the feds.

U.S. District Judge Andrea R. Wood handed down the 84-month sentence on Friday.