ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL OBTAINS GUILTY PLEA IN CASE STEMMING FROM INVESTIGATION INTO SUBURBAN DRUG, GUN ACTIVITY

ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL OBTAINS GUILTY PLEA IN CASE STEMMING FROM INVESTIGATION INTO SUBURBAN DRUG, GUN ACTIVITY

November 12, 2024

Chicago - Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced an Aurora, Illinois man pleaded guilty and was sentenced to prison for his role in drug sales throughout Chicagoland.

David Stewart, 41, of Aurora, Illinois, pleaded guilty to the unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, a Class X felony. Kane County Circuit Court Judge Julia Yetter sentenced Stewart to 10 years and six months in prison.

"Illicit drug and firearm sales have a destabilizing effect on neighborhoods and often fuel an increase in other forms of criminal activity," Raoul said. "I will continue to collaborate with federal agencies and local law enforcement to combat gun and drug trafficking and hold perpetrators accountable."

Raoul charged Stewart and seven other defendants in December 2022 after a joint investigation between his office and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Chicago Field Division (ATF), with several local law enforcement agencies. According to Raoul, the investigation uncovered known suburban gang members and their associates involved in illegally selling drugs and guns. Stewart was charged after he allegedly sold cocaine to a confidential informant with the ATF.

Assistant Attorney General Steven Knight handled the case for Raoul's Statewide Grand Jury Bureau, which is authorized by Illinois statute to prosecute multi-county cases involving drugs, guns or electronics. Working regularly with state and federal law enforcement agencies, the bureau focuses on complex, often large-scale, organized criminal activity.