'Ghost Gun' Conviction: Glenview Man Sold AR-15 In Deerfield

CHICAGO — A federal jury convicted a Glenview man last week on a firearm charge for illegally selling a “ghost gun” to a convicted felon in Deerfield. A jury in U.S. District Court in Chicago on Thursday convicted Joseph Ghandour, 31, of illegally selling an AR-15 rifle to the felon during a meeting in a grocery store parking lot on July 28, 2017.

According to the feds, the rifle was considered a “ghost gun” because it contained no identifiable serial number and had been manufactured by another person from parts collected from various sources. Unbeknownst to Ghandour, the felon to whom he sold the rifle was cooperating with law enforcement.

Ghandour was convicted of selling or disposing of a firearm to a convicted felon who could not lawfully possess a firearm. The charge is punishable by a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis set sentencing for June 22.

Disrupting illegal firearms trafficking is a centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s cross-jurisdictional strike force aimed at reducing gun violence, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office - Northern District of Illinois. As part of the Chicago firearms trafficking strike force, the U.S. Attorney’s Office collaborates with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners in the Northern District of Illinois and across the country to "help stem the supply of illegally trafficked firearms and identify patterns, leads, and potential suspects in violent gun crimes."