Former prison guard charged with gun trafficking
A former Illinois prison guard is being held for selling five assault rifles and other guns to a known felon, authorities said.
The U.S. attorney’s office said Dwayne Meeks was arrested Wednesday by FBI agents after an undercover sting during which a former prison inmate posed as a gun trafficker. In July 2012, the former inmate bought eight high-powered firearms for $18,000, $3,000 of which was Meeks’ delivery fee, prosecutors said.
Authorities say the 48-year-old Meeks, who had moved to Little Rock, Ark., met the buyer when the individual was an inmate.
Prosecutors say the FBI has audio- and video-recorded transmissions of the transaction in a suburban Cook County forest preserve.
Meeks is in federal custody pending a detention hearing Monday.
It wasn’t immediately known if Meeks has a lawyer.