Man who sold guns to undercover officers sentenced to nine years in prison

A 28-year-old Galesburg man arrested earlier this year in a Lake County sheriff's office operation designed to get illegal guns off the streets was sentenced to nine years in prison Monday.

Damond Martin pleaded guilty in October to felony counts of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and unlawful delivery of a firearm, both of which are class 2 felonies, according to a news release from the Lake County state's attorney's office.

In addition to the prison time, Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti sentenced Martin to three years of probation upon his release.

Martin was arrested by Lake County sheriff's deputies on Aug. 2 after a five-month investigation. According to officials, Martin sold an undercover detective a semi-automatic firearm with an obliterated serial number in November of 2018. Martin also sold a MAC-11 semi-automatic firearm to an undercover officer in April of 2019. Both sales happened in Waukegan, according to officials.

"Keeping firearms out of the hands of felons and those who can't legally possess them is a major priority for our Special Investigations Group," Sheriff John Idleburg said when Martin was arrested.