An Indianapolis man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for trafficking 15 guns, including semiautomatic rifles and “ghost guns,” from Indianapolis to the Chicago area, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago.
Over the spring and summer of 2022, Devante Brown and a co-defendant sold the guns to undercover officers at locations including Calumet City and Lynwood, according to authorities.
Brown and Corey Sartin, also of Indianapolis, met with undercover officers working with the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives at a storage facility in Calumet City in June 2022, according to authorities.
There, Brown and Sartin turned over 10 guns, including four semiautomatic handguns, four semiautomatic rifles, and two privately made “ghost guns” to the undercover officers. A firearm is considered a “ghost gun” when it contains no identifiable serial number and was manufactured from parts collected from various sources, according to the U.S. attorney.
In a text message to the undercover officers prior to one of the deals, Brown stated, “I come across guns all day long. We gone do good business together.”
Brown, 29, of Indianapolis, Indiana, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a federal firearm charge, according to the U.S. attorney.
He had been held since shortly after being charged in a criminal complaint in June 2022, which followed with an indictment that August, according to court records.
Brown’s attorneys had sought a prison sentence of 5 years.
Sartin, 21, also pleaded guilty to a firearm charge and was sentenced last year to 2½ years in prison.
