Man shot last month in Oak Park a federal informant

(OAK PARK) A man shot last month at a west suburban apartment complex was acting as a confidential informant for the federal government on a drug case, according to federal court records.

The information was revealed in a federal complaint filed April 4 charging Kelsey Jones, aka “Little Mo,” with attempted murder.

The informant had worked with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives since December 2012 in a sting operation targeting Toby Jones, aka “Big Red,” a gang member who sold crack cocaine and illegally possessed firearms on the West Side of Chicago, according to the complaint.

The informant told authorities Jones employed several people to sell crack, including Wesley Fields, aka “Little Red,” according to the complaint. Jones recently expressed an interest to the informant in acquiring firearms for himself and his dealers.

The informant worked with an undercover agent over the next few months, buying crack cocaine and discussing possible firearms sales with Kelsey Jones and his dealers, while wearing audio and video recording devices, according to the complaint. During one sale, the undercover agent paid Jones $2,200 in cash wrapped in a McDonald’s hamburger wrapper.

The undercover agent negotiated a deal with Jones to exchange six “jabs” of cocaine for each firearm, according to the complaint. The agent and the informant met with Fields and two others — not identified in the complaint — at a grocery parking lot on the South Side on March 26, then drove to another location.

The agent brought eight firearms, according to the complaint. Fields chose guns for himself and Jones, then paid the agent 13.3 grams of cocaine and $400.

Fields, along with the two others who are not identified, were taken into custody after the sale.

The informant was taken to a secure location and told not to leave until Toby Jones was taken into custody. However, on April 2, the informant returned to his Oak Park home to collect some belongings.

A few minutes before 9 p.m., the information drove into the parking lot of the complex in the 400 block of North Austin Avenue and saw a male get out of a maroon minivan, approach his car, take out a handgun and start shooting, according to the complaint.

The informant was struck in the shoulder, and another passenger in the car — the informant’s brother — was struck in the head. Both were treated and released from a hospital.

Two days later, the informant — along with two other witnesses — identified the shooter in a photo lineup as Kelsey Jones, according to the complaint.

Kelsey Jones was charged with attempted murder in the federal complaint filed April 4. Toby Jones and Wesley Fields were each charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine in a separate complaint. Fields is also charged with knowing possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense.

–Sun-Times Media Wire, Pioneer Press