Chicago Gunrunner Biles Gets 2 Years

CHICAGO – Willie Lee Biles Jr., 44, of Indianapolis, Indiana, is headed to federal prison for two years after being convicted of running guns into Chicago and illegally peddling them on the West Side. The sentence was handed down Thursday by U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis.

Between fall 2013, Biles repeatedly hopped on a Megabus from Indianapolis, each time loaded with handguns. He’d legally purchased at least 29 firearms from licensed dealers in Indiana, then flipped them for a hefty profit – more than double his initial cost – to buyers in Chicago. The operation was brazenly careless; Biles didn’t bother with the basics like identification checks or verifying if his ‘customers’ were even legally allowed to own a firearm.

The recklessness paid off for a while, but ultimately led to a conviction on one count of willfully dealing firearms without a license. At least one of Biles’ buyers, a convicted felon, was clearly prohibited from possessing a weapon. Twelve of the firearms Biles sold have since been recovered by law enforcement, hinting at the potential for further violence linked to his operation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher V. Parente and Elizabeth R. Pozolo laid out the danger in a sentencing memorandum, stating the guns “have been used in attempted murders, recovered from documented gang members, convicted felons, and hidden inside drug stash houses.”

This wasn’t a victimless crime. Otto Lewellen, of Bellwood, previously pleaded guilty in 2015 to being a felon in possession of a firearm after admitting he bought four guns from Biles during the same period in 2013. Lewellen described meeting Biles on multiple occasions and witnessing him sell firearms to various individuals. Two of the guns Lewellen purchased were recovered, but he admitted to selling the other two to an individual known only as “Red” – who remains at large, along with the missing weapons. Lewellen received an 18-month sentence in 2015.

The case was brought by Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Joel R. Levin, and Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Celinez Nunez. The investigation was a collaborative effort, conducted through the Chicago High Intensity Drug Trafficking Task Force (HIDTA), with substantial assistance from the Illinois State Police, Chicago Police Department, Bellwood Police Department, and ATF Indianapolis Field Office.

Biles’ two-year sentence sends a message – even a relatively simple operation like illegally trafficking firearms carries serious consequences. The feds are clearly focused on stemming the flow of illegal guns into Chicago, and Biles is just the latest example of their efforts to hold those responsible accountable.