Federal Indictment Charges Man With Illegally Possessing Loaded Gun During Exchange of Gunfire in Chicago

CHICAGO — A federal grand jury has charged a man with illegally possessing a loaded handgun during an exchange of gunfire in Chicago earlier this year.

The indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court in Chicago charges MARQUIST EVANS, 30, of Chicago, with illegal possession of a machine gun and ammunition.  Evans fired numerous shots from a handgun while standing in the doorway of a gas station in the 500 block of West Grenshaw Street in Chicago on May 6, 2024, according to a criminal complaint previously filed in the case.  Evans fired the gun in the direction of two shooters, one of whom was armed with a rifle, who had emerged from a car and fired numerous shots at the vehicle in which Evans had arrived at the gas station, the complaint states.  Evans’s handgun was equipped with a conversion device, also known as a “Glock switch,” which allow firearms to fire multiple rounds with a single pull of the trigger, the complaint states.

Evans is currently in law enforcement custody.  Arraignment on the federal charges is scheduled for Aug. 15, 2024, at 10:30 a.m., before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keri L. Holleb Hotaling.

The indictment was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Larry Snelling, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Saqib M. Hussain.

The investigation was conducted in coordination with ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center of Chicago.  The CGIC is a centralized law enforcement hub that focuses exclusively on investigating and preventing gun violence in Chicago and throughout northern Illinois.  The CGIC is an interagency collaboration that brings together - under one roof - federal, state, and local law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and intelligence analysts to move quickly to investigate and prosecute violent crimes.

Holding firearm offenders accountable through federal prosecution is the centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative that brings together law enforcement officials, prosecutors, community leaders, and other stakeholders to develop comprehensive solutions to the most pressing violent crime problems.  In the Northern District of Illinois, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses.

“Our office is using every available law enforcement tool to continue to bring impactful cases that hold firearm offenders accountable and reduce violent crime in Chicago,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Pasqual.  “Combating the unacceptable level of gun violence in Chicago will continue to be a top priority in our office.”

“This defendant was charged using the resources and partnerships that the Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC) of Chicago created this spring,” said ATF SAC Amon.  “The CGIC’s real time analysis of crime gun intelligence is a game changer in arresting and holding accountable those who are drivers of violent gun crime in our community.”

The charges in the indictment are punishable by a maximum sentence of 25 years in federal prison.  The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.