Chicago man carried loaded gun in shopping bag on CTA train: prosecutors

CHICAGO - A Chicago man will spend three years in prison after prosecutors said he carried a loaded handgun in a shopping bag while riding a CTA Blue Line train during a period of court-supervised release.

The backstory:

Gerald Pittman, 39, was arrested July 28, 2025, while riding the train, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors said Pittman was drinking beer, smoking and carrying a red shopping bag that contained a loaded handgun.

Pittman had prior felony convictions and was prohibited by law from possessing a firearm, prosecutors said.

One of Pittman’s prior convictions was a federal drug-trafficking offense, and he was on court-supervised release at the time of his arrest.

Pittman's sentence:

Pittman pleaded guilty in February 2026 to a federal charge of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

On May 19, he was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison, prosecutors said.

After completing that sentence, Pittman also must serve an additional six months for violating the terms of his supervised release in the drug-trafficking case, bringing his total prison term to three years, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

What they're saying:

"Defendant did not possess a gun in a private residence; he was carrying it in a shopping bag while riding on the L, where gun violence has risen at an alarming rate in recent years," Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Maione argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.  "Gun-wielding riders like the defendant have caused an increasing share of Chicagoans to fear for their lives when riding Chicago’s public train system.  Indeed, defendant’s offense—carrying a gun on a CTA train while impaired—is the type of behavior driving violent crime on public transportation, instilling fear in innocent transit patrons, and scaring countless others away from riding trains that are meant to serve everyone in this city."