A federal judge has sentenced Omari Andrews, Jr. to over ten years in prison for possessing multiple firearms while trafficking fentanyl and other narcotics in the Chicago suburbs. A jury found Andrews guilty last year of possessing an AR-15 style firearm and three handguns during his drug trafficking activities in Mt. Prospect, Illinois, in 2023. Prior to the trial, Andrews pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl and heroin in several Illinois locations including Westmont, Villa Park, Des Plaines, and Hillside during late 2022 and early 2023.
Andrews, aged 26 from Mt. Prospect, has been held in federal custody since his arrest in 2023. U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang handed down a sentence of ten years and three months on Thursday.
The sentencing was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, along with Matthew Scarpino, Special Agent-in-Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago. The Skokie and Evanston Police Departments contributed valuable assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alejandro G. Ortega stated in the government’s sentencing memorandum that “the defendant possessed a small arsenal of guns and ammunition in his apartment to protect his drug trafficking activity.” Ortega emphasized that “drugs, and especially fentanyl, are a scourge to the public health and to law enforcement across the country, and a stain on the community.”
Federal prosecution of firearm and drug offenders is central to Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). In the Northern District of Illinois, PSN is utilized by the U.S. Attorney’s Office alongside law enforcement partners to address violent crime issues within the district, particularly those involving firearms.
