Felon get 5 years in federal prison for illegally possessing handgun

A 30-year-old convicted felon was sentenced to more than five years in federal prison Wednesday for illegally possessing a loaded handgun in 2018 in West Garfield Park.

Larry Caradine, of Chicago, pleaded guilty last year to illegal possession of a firearm by a felon, the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Illinois said in a statement.

On Oct. 26, 2018, Chicago police officers approached him in the 4700 block of West Monroe Street and he dropped a gun on the ground, prosecutors said

At the time, he was out on parole after after serving a two-year sentence for a state narcotics conviction, prosecutors said.

Caradine is an eight-time convicted felon and was not legally allowed to possess a gun, prosecutors said.

“The possession of illegal weapons by convicted felons is contributing to the cycle of violence that continues on a daily basis in this city,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher V. Parente argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “Despite repeated criminal convictions and repeated sentences of imprisonment, the defendant continues to escalate his criminal behavior and continues to break the law.”