Chicago man gets 10 years after ATF agent injured in ambush
HAMMOND, Ind. (AP) - A Chicago man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in an ambush of federal agents in Gary.
Blake W. King, 22, was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Hammond after pleading guilty Aug. 7 to robbery stemming from a June 7, 2018, assault that left an undercover agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives critically wounded.
The (Northwest Indiana) Times reports the ATF was investigating illegal gun trafficking in the Chicago area. ATF agents arranged a meeting with men who had guns to sell at a Gary home.
King admitted in his guilty plea he knew beforehand his partners, Raymon Truitt II, 28, of Gary, and Bernard Graham, 26, of Calumet City, Illinois, were armed and planning to rob the prospective gun buyers. When the undercover agents arrived, King gave them a bag filled with nothing but pots and pans.
Truitt and Graham drew their weapons and opened fire on the agents, who returned fire.
Truitt died in the exchange. One of the agents was shot multiple times and critically wounded. He was hospitalized and has since recovered.
Graham pleaded guilty Sept. 30 to his role in the shooting. He hasn't been sentenced yet.