A North Chicago man facing charges of selling 3D-printed “ghost guns” and machine gun conversion devices was ordered detained in Lake County Jail pending trial.
Eric Raines-Sylvestre, 55, was formally charged by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office with 10 counts of unlicensed sale or delivery of a firearm, nine counts of unlawful sale or delivery of an unserialized firearm, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon, and one count of gunrunning.
Raines-Sylvestre, 20, of the 2000 block of Sherman Avenue in North Chicago, was indicted by a statewide Grand Jury on charges of Gunrunning, a Class 1 felony, and two counts of Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, Class 2 felonies, said Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli.
In addition, Raines-Sylvestre is facing ten counts of Unlawful Sale of a Firearm and nine counts of Unlawful Sale of an Unserialized Firearm. Those charges are Class 4 felonies, Covelli said.
A Lake County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Group (SIG), a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA)-funded task force, with the close assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) – Chicago Field Division, received a tip that Raines-Sylvestre was illegally selling firearms, some being manufactured with a 3D printer, known as unserialized ‘ghost guns,’ Covelli said.
During the several-month-long investigation, undercover SIG detectives purchased ten firearms from Raines-Sylvestre and 25 machine gun conversion kits, Covelli said.
The conversion kits turn a semiautomatic firearm into a full-automatic firearm, Covelli said.
Some of the firearms sold by Raines-Sylvestre were stolen from Lake County and Cook County, Covelli said.
The facts of the case were presented to a Statewide Grand Jury by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office on May 9, Covelli said.
The Grand Jury returned a direct indictment warrant for Raines-Sylvestre, Covelli said.
Raines-Sylvestre was arrested without incident on May 19 after detectives conducted a traffic stop on his vehicle.
Thomas Darmon, a prosecutor with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, said Raines-Sylvestre sold the ghost guns, an AR-15, and conversion kits to undercover officers between July 2024 and January 2025.
He added Raines-Syvestre indicated to officers that he was privately manufacturing firearms using a 3D printer.
Lake County Circuit Court Judge Michael Nerheim said during Raines-Sylvestre’s detention hearing Tuesday that the North Chicago man is considered a real and present danger to the community.
“Considering the nature and circumstances of the offense, the fact it involves firearms, the number of firearms, the period of time over which this exists, the types of firearms, and the fact that we are talking about assault rifles and fully automatic conversion switches that the defendant is able to manufacture, the state has met the burden to prove the defendent is a real and present danger to the community,” Nerheim said.
Raines-Sylvestre is due back in court on June 10.