North Chicago, IL – A North Chicago man faces multiple felony charges after authorities allege he trafficked firearms, including 3D-printed “ghost guns” and machine gun conversion kits, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
According to a statement released by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, 20-year-old Eric Raines-Sylvestre was indicted by a Statewide Grand Jury in Illinois on May 9, 2025, following a months-long investigation led by the department’s Special Investigations Group (SIG) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) – Chicago Field Division. The investigation reportedly uncovered that Raines-Sylvestre had been illegally selling firearms, some stolen and some untraceable, from North Chicago.
The charges include gunrunning (Class 1 felony), two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon (Class 2 felonies), ten counts of unlawful sale of a firearm (Class 4 felonies), and nine counts related to the unlawful sale of unserialized firearms.
SIG detectives stated they purchased at least 26 machine gun conversion kits and multiple firearms from Raines-Sylvestre, some of which were stolen from Lake and Cook counties. He was arrested without incident during a traffic stop on Sunday, May 19, 2025, and remains held in the Lake County Jail pending a detention hearing.
“This case is a powerful example of what’s possible when agencies come together to keep our communities safe,” said Lake County Sheriff John D. Idleburg in a public statement. ATF officials added that the collaboration dismantled a significant threat involving the illegal modification of firearms for fully automatic fire.
Authorities emphasized that all suspects are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
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