Federal Jury Convicts Man of Possessing Multiple Firearms While Trafficking Fentanyl in Chicago Suburbs

CHICAGO - A federal jury has convicted a man on drug and firearm charges for possessing multiple guns while trafficking fentanyl and other narcotics in the Chicago suburbs.

The jury on Friday found OMARI ANDREWS, JR. guilty of possessing an AR-15 style firearm and three handguns while trafficking fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, and marijuana in Mt. Prospect, Ill., in 2023. The jury returned its verdicts after a week-long trial in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Prior to trial, Andrews pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl and heroin in Westmont, Ill., Villa Park, Ill., Des Plaines, Ill., and Hillside, Ill., in 2022 and 2023.

Andrews, 24, of Mt. Prospect, Ill., has been detained in federal custody since his arrest in 2023. U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang set sentencing for Dec. 18, 2024. Andrews faces a maximum sentence of life in federal prison.

The verdicts were announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Sean Fitzgerald, Special Agent-in-Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago. The Skokie, Ill. and Evanston, Ill. Police Departments provided valuable assistance. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alejandro G. Ortega and Sean Hennessy.

Holding firearm and drug offenders accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) - the Department of Justice's violent crime reduction strategy. 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.