South Side Gunner Gets 7.5 Years

CHICAGO – Another South Side street thug is off the streets after a federal judge handed down a hefty sentence for a gun crime. CHAWAN LOWE, 31, of Chicago, was sentenced to seven and a half years in federal prison for illegally packing a loaded semiautomatic handgun in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood. The conviction highlights the ongoing battle against illegal firearms fueling the city’s relentless violence.

The incident unfolded on the evening of May 22, 2019, in the 7800 block of South Sangamon Street. Lowe was caught on surveillance video ditching the weapon in a dumpster just moments after Chicago Police responded to reports of gunfire nearby. This wasn’t a case of a law-abiding citizen exercising their Second Amendment rights; Lowe was already a convicted felon, barred from possessing a firearm due to prior narcotics convictions. He clearly wasn’t deterred.

A federal jury didn’t buy his excuses in March, finding Lowe guilty on one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a felon. U.S. District Judge Elaine E. Bucklo didn’t show leniency during the September 2nd sentencing. The prosecution argued successfully that Lowe’s actions demonstrated a blatant disregard for the law, and his decision to possess a firearm in a city already drowning in gun violence was particularly egregious.

The case was a joint effort, spearheaded by U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch, Jr. for the Northern District of Illinois, and supported by Kristen deTineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the ATF, and Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office also played a crucial role in building the case, showcasing interagency cooperation in tackling violent crime. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeremy Daniel and Erika Gilliam-Booker, who also serves as an Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney, successfully prosecuted the case.

This sentencing isn’t an isolated incident. It’s part of a larger strategy – Project Guardian and Project Safe Neighborhoods – aimed at holding illegal firearm possessors accountable at the federal level. U.S. Attorney Lausch has made it clear that these programs will be aggressively deployed to combat the range of violent crime plaguing the district, with a particular focus on gun offenses. Expect more convictions like this as law enforcement continues to crack down.

Lowe’s seven and a half year sentence sends a message, however small, that illegally possessing a firearm in Chicago carries serious consequences. But until the root causes of violence are addressed, the cycle will likely continue. Grimy Times will continue to track these cases and expose the truth behind the city’s ongoing crime epidemic.