5 men from Kankakee area charged with gun violations

URBANA -- Five men are in federal custody on gun charges resulting from investigations of gun violence in the Kankakee area, the U.S. attorney's office in central Illinois announced Friday.

Rico J. Speed, 27; Roosevelt D. Smith, 22; Charles V. Williams, 39; and Carlton Lashawn Smith, 34, all of Kankakee, and Antwon T. Crite, 38, of Hopkins Park, were all charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Speed is also charged one count of distribution of crack cocaine.

U.S. Magistrate Judge David G. Bernthal ordered the five detained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial.

It wasn't immediately known if the men have attorneys.

U.S. Attorney Jim Lewis said a federal grand jury returned the indictments earlier this week but the charges remained sealed pending their arrests and court appearances. Lewis set a trial date for Nov. 12.

If convicted, each count of felon in possession of a firearm carries a statutory penalty of up to 10 years in prison, according to the U.S. attorney's office. The drug charge against Speed carries a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison.