Federal Gun Trafficking and Drug Dealing Charges Filed Against Chicago Man

CHICAGO — A Chicago man has been charged in federal court with trafficking a loaded submachine gun and dealing cocaine in the city.

JOSUE CANALES, 28, knowingly transferred a loaded Israeli Military Industries Model submachine gun to another individual on Dec. 15, 2020, according to an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  The indictment also accuses Canales of distributing cocaine in Chicago on four occasions in 2019.

Canales was arrested Wednesday and has made an initial appearance in federal court in Chicago.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mower represents the government.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

One of the four drug counts against Canales carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a maximum of 40 years.  The three other drug counts are each punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years, while the firearm count carries a maximum sentence of ten years.  If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

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