Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced a Lake County man prosecuted by his office pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years in prison for trying to sell illegal firearms, some of which were stolen.

Agustin Prado, 30, of Waukegan, Illinois, pleaded guilty today to one Class 1 felony count of gunrunning and was sentenced to seven years in prison by Lake County Circuit Court Judge Mark L. Levitt. On May 20, co-defendant Cesar Morales, 30, also of Waukegan, was sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to one Class X felony count of gunrunning.

“Individuals who engage in gun trafficking make it possible for firearms to end up in the hands of those who are not legally able to possess them. The result is increased violent crime that destabilizes our neighborhoods,” Raoul said. “I will continue to take a proactive and collaborative approach toward fighting gun violence, and I appreciate the partnership of Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart as well as the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the ATF, which assisted in the prosecution and investigation of this case.”

Raoul charged Prado and Ceasar in September 2023 after an investigation found that Morales and Prado worked together to illegally sell six firearms and an ounce of cocaine in Lake and Cook counties. The investigation revealed Morales illegally sold 10 additional firearms between June and August of 2023. Of the 16 firearms illegally sold, five were reported as being stolen.

Attorney General Raoul’s office prosecuted both cases with Lake County State Attorney Eric Rinehart’s office.

“Our community is safer because of the outstanding investigation by our law enforcement partners and our ongoing work with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office,” Lake County State’s Attorney Eric F. Rinehart said. “Serious crimes like these deserve pretrial detention, and bail reform has allowed for such detention without having to worry about the offender’s ability to pay cash. Now, these offenders are also seeing that gunrunning will lead to prison.”

Raoul’s Statewide Grand Jury Bureau is authorized by Illinois statute to prosecute multi-county cases involving drugs, money laundering, guns or electronics. Working regularly with state and federal counterparts, the bureau focuses on complex, often large-scale, organized criminal activity. 

Deputy Chief Andrew Whitfield prosecuted both cases for Raoul’s Statewide Grand Jury Bureau.