Suburban Chicago Man Sentenced to Two and a Half Years in Prison for Conspiring to Straw Purchase Firearms (DOJ)

ROCKFORD - A suburban Chicago man has been sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison for conspiring with his sister to straw purchase seven firearms.

From 2020 to 2023, DERWIN VAZQUEZ, JR. conspired with his sister-JALISSA R. VAZQUEZ-to make false or fictious written statements to three licensed firearms dealers in connection with the acquisition or attempted acquisition of the firearms. Vazquez Jr. often purchased firearms online but falsely used his sister's name as the purchaser. He then instructed Jalissa Vazquez to go pick up the firearms, knowing that she would falsely certify on federal forms that she was the actual buyer. Other times, Vazquez Jr. provided cash to Jalissa Vazquez or instructed her to purchase firearms with cash on his behalf. Vazquez, Jr. admitted that he intended to unlawfully re-sell the firearms to others on Facebook.

Vazquez Jr., 26, of Waukegan, Ill., pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to provide false and fictitious written statements to federally licensed dealers of firearms. U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston imposed the 30-month prison sentence during a hearing on Thursday in federal court in Rockford.

The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Kim.

Jalissa Vazquez, 37, of Garden Prairie, Ill., pleaded guilty last year to the same conspiracy charge as her brother. She is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Johnston on April 23, 2026.

Holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). In the Northern District of Illinois, the U.S. Attorney's Office and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to tackle a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses.