Former Satan Disciple member sentenced in Chicago

CHICAGO (AP) - A federal judge in Chicago has sentenced a longtime member of the Satan Disciples street gang to 12 years in prison on narcotics and gun possession convictions, the U.S. attorney's office said in a Friday press release.

Efren Gutierrez, 44, was arrested in 2017 after agents found cocaine and other illegal drugs at his Burbank home, just southwest of Chicago.

Agents found a loaded .45-caliber handgun in a diaper bag at the home, according to prosecutors. The gun had been stolen in Wyoming in 2016.

Gutierrez was sentenced this week after pleading guilty in April to possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. He faced a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence.

His lawyers had asked for a prison term of no more than 10 years. They pointed to Gutierrez's upbring in a dangerous Chicago neighborhood and to how the Satan Disciples recruited him when he was just 12.

The defense also insisted the father of eight was remorseful, and that he'd taken steps in recent years to improve his life and the lives of his kids.

But prosecutors cited his previous convictions, including for badly injuring someone by beating the person repeatedly with a baseball bat.