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Former prison guard charged with gun trafficking

Posted May 31, 2013 3:51 pm

Associated Press

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.

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