A Chicago resident, under electronic monitoring due to a pending Cook County gun charge, is facing accusations of selling five firearms to undercover federal informants while wearing his ankle monitor.
Donald Dailey, 32, has been charged with possessing a firearm while under indictment for a felony. He was apprehended on May 14, shortly after allegedly making his fifth gun sale to an undercover informant at the 7300 block of South Maryland Avenue. This arrest follows a federal complaint filed by a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives agent.
The reported transactions began on February 5, when Dailey allegedly sold a Beretta 9mm pistol with an obliterated serial number to an informant. Subsequently, on March 27, he is accused of selling a Heckler and Koch .40 caliber pistol to the same informant and another individual, according to the ATF agent.
A third transaction reportedly took place on April 15, involving a 9mm pistol without a serial number, sold to the second informant and a third person. On April 24, Dailey allegedly sold two more gunsâa .380 pistol and another 9mm pistolâto the second informant and a fourth individual. Surveillance teams discreetly recorded and monitored each transaction, as stated by the agent.
The final event occurred on May 14, when Dailey and the first informant allegedly started exchanging messages about another firearm sale. Dailey reportedly sent photos of two guns and agreed to sell them for $1,200, as per the complaint.
That afternoon, ATF agents equipped the informant with covert video and audio recording devices and provided cash with recorded serial numbers before tracking his meeting with Dailey. A hidden camera captured Dailey handing over a box containing the firearms and receiving cash from the informant. Agents arrested him shortly after he left the vehicle, according to authorities.
Upon questioning, Dailey reportedly described himself as a “middleman” in the gun sales operation, according to the complaint.
The state case that led to Dailey’s electronic monitoring stems from an arrest by Chicago police last May, where he was charged with possessing a stolen firearm and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Following that arrest, he was placed under electronic monitoring, as detailed in court records and the federal complaint. The ATF agent claims Dailey was wearing the monitor during the sales.
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