Two Waukegan men have been sentenced to prison for gunrunning after they sold at least 16 guns, some of which were stolen, in Lake and Cook counties.
Agustin Prado, 30, of Waukegan, Illinois, pleaded guilty Friday to one Class 1 felony count of gunrunning, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced Friday.
Prado was sentenced to seven years in prison by Lake County Circuit Court Judge Mark L. Levitt, Raoul said.
The plea deal comes after co-defendant Cesar Morales, 30, also of Waukegan, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for pleading guilty to one Class X felony count of gunrunning on May 20, Raoul said.
“Individuals who engage in gun trafficking make it possible for firearms to end up in the hands of those who are not legally able to possess them. The result is increased violent crime that destabilizes our neighborhoods,” Raoul said. “I will continue to take a proactive and collaborative approach toward fighting gun violence, and I appreciate the partnership of Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart as well as the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the ATF, which assisted in the prosecution and investigation of this case.”
Prado and Ceasar were charged in September of 2023 after an investigation found they worked together to illegally sell six firearms and an ounce of cocaine in Lake and Cook counties.
Morales was initially charged with three counts of gunrunning, unlawful sale or delivery of firearms, three counts of armed violence, and two counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance.
Prado was initially charged with two counts of gunrunning and two counts of unlawful sale or delivery of firearms.
The investigation revealed Morales illegally sold 10 additional firearms between June and August of 2023, Rauol said.
Of the 16 firearms illegally sold, five were reported as being stolen.
The most serious charge against Morales, gunrunning, is a Class X felony punishable by up to 40 years in prison.
The most serious charge against Prado, gunrunning, is a Class 1 felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Raoul’s office prosecuted both cases with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office.
“Our community is safer because of the outstanding investigation by our law enforcement partners and our ongoing work with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office,” Rinehart said. “Serious crimes like these deserve pretrial detention, and bail reform has allowed for such detention without having to worry about the offender’s ability to pay cash. Now, these offenders are also seeing that gunrunning will lead to prison.”
Raoul’s Statewide Grand Jury Bureau is authorized by Illinois statute to prosecute multi-county cases involving drugs, money laundering, guns or electronics. Working regularly with state and federal counterparts, the bureau focuses on complex, often large-scale, organized criminal activity, Raoul said.