Michael Tapia Gets 20 Years for Stolen Firearm Ring

Michael Tapia, 26, of Belvidere, was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in federal prison for his role in a brazen theft and distribution ring that stole more than 21 firearms and ammunition from a northern Illinois residence. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Philip G. Reinhard, includes three years of supervised release. Tapia did not appear for the hearing and was sentenced in absentia after the court ruled he was knowingly and voluntarily absent.

The conviction stems from a December 31, 2012, break-in at a home in northern Illinois, where Tapia and Teovanni Cunningham, 32 of Rockford, smashed in and looted a cache of weapons. According to trial evidence, the pair later distributed and stashed the stolen arsenal. Tapia was found guilty on August 25, 2016, after a four-day jury trial on charges of conspiracy to traffic stolen firearms, possession of stolen firearms, and illegal possession as a convicted felon.

Cunningham, a key co-defendant, pleaded guilty on May 31, 2016, to identical charges and was sentenced on September 20, 2016, to 188 months—over 15 years—in federal prison, plus three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $12,723.99 in restitution. Darrell Reed, 28 of Byron, pleaded guilty on June 15, 2016, to receiving and trafficking stolen firearms and was sentenced to one year and one day, with three years supervised release and $750.00 in restitution.

Michael Schaffer, 34, also of Byron, pleaded guilty on June 3, 2016, to conspiracy to receive, possess, conceal, store, sell, and dispose of stolen firearms and ammunition. Schaffer has yet to be sentenced. All four men were tied to the same criminal network that moved stolen weapons across the region, exploiting gaps in local security and trafficking channels.

The investigation was led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Chicago Field Division, with critical support from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department, Rockton Police Department, and Rockford Police Department. The probe dismantled a network that turned a civilian gun collection into a mobile arsenal for felons.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Talia Bucci and Michael D. Love. Zachary T. Fardon, then U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and George Lauder, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of ATF Chicago, announced the sentencing. The 20-year sentence marks one of the harshest penalties in recent years for firearm trafficking in the district.