The Chicago PD recently tracked down a six-time felon with an enviable collection of firearms and accessories. Among his toys were suppressors, which are off-limits for mere mortals in the Land O’ Lincoln. But that isn’t all that made the case of Ryan Gamboa uniquely unique.
You see, Ryan had set up an improvised shooting range in the basement of his house. Heck, the genius even posted a video on Facebook of him shooting a suppressed AR in his private range. In Lori Lightfoot’s Chicago.
How did police catch up to Mr. Gamboa? Was it the sound of gunfire from his house? Well, no. He used suppressors to muffle some of the noise and, well, it’s Murder City, USA after all. Gunfire is the norm there.
Did the Facebook video he uploaded on Christmas do it?
Nope. Who uses Facebook anymore, anyway? Nobody even bothered to report the video.
It seems Mr. Gamboa’s sweet private shooting range set-up came crashing down because he (allegedly) ordered his silencers online from China. The good folks at US. Customs and Border Protection detected something “suspicious” in a package destined for Mr. Gamboa. They teamed up with US Postal Inspectors to make sure it got a special delivery to the intended recipient.
CWB Chicago has the story . . .
It started when customs agents in New York City intercepted a silencer that was being shipped to Chicago. It ended with police finding two guns, an additional silencer, and an indoor shooting range at the home of a six-time felon, prosecutors said.
And then there’s the Facebook video that allegedly shows the accused man dancing with his guns and firing them on his basement range.
Ryan Gamboa, 34, is charged with two counts of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and unlawful use of a silencer. Judge Susana Ortiz ordered him held in lieu of $200,000 bail…
Prosecutors said Gamboa admitted to possessing all of the guns, gun parts, and ammunition that police found. He also admitted to buying both silencers, Kalliantasis said.
Gamboa has previous felony convictions for possessing a stolen motor vehicle, escape, narcotics, and retail theft, according to Kalliantasis.
There’s an expression about committing felonies that goes something like this: After the first one, the rest are free. In Mr. Gamboa’s case, given that he’s in Illinois, he’s probably not going to spend much time in prison.
Even if he’s sentenced to a stint in the big house, prison time in the Land O’ Lincoln is a lot like dog years in reverse.
