Gang member faces sentencing in Chicago for train gun theft

CHICAGO – A Chicago gang member is facing sentencing for helping steal about 100 new guns from a freight train.

A judge is set Thursday to sentence 38-year-old Patrick Edwards, who prosecutors deem a career train burglar.

Edwards and seven others slipped into a Norfolk Southern rail yard in 2015 to steal guns that were being hauled to Spokane, Washington, from New Hampshire’s Sturm, Ruger & Co.

Prosecutors say Edwards should know better than anyone how deadly gun trafficking can be, given his brother was fatally shot years ago. Prosecutors are asking for at least a 12-year prison sentence.

Defence lawyers say Edwards’ remorse and efforts to change behind bars should be considered.

The judge sentenced one of Edwards’ co-defendants to 10 years in prison, saying such thefts contribute to Chicago’s “epidemic of violence.”