Chicago area man who trafficked fentanyl, cocaine sentenced to 12 years in prison

CHICAGO - A Gurnee man who admitted to trafficking fentanyl and cocaine and illegally possessing a loaded handgun was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison.

William Fillyaw, 47, pleaded guilty earlier this year to federal drug and gun charges, according to prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Ilinois.

The backstory:

Back on October 28, 2022, Fillyaw had drugs and a gun in the parking lot of his apartment complex in Gurnee.

He was carrying a backpack that contained cocaine packaged in quarter-ounce quantities, the fentanyl wrapped in three square bricks, and the handgun, prosecutors said. He intended to sell the drugs on the streets and admitted to having the gun in connection with the drug trafficking activities.

The gun did not have a serial number and had been assembled from a gun kit, making it an untraceable "ghost gun," according to prosecutors.

A federal judge handed down the 12-year sentence last Friday.

What they're saying:

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirsten Moran and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Niranjan Emani explained the seriousness of the case in their sentencing memorandum.

"Narcotics distribution and firearm offenses are serious crimes that adversely impact the people who live and work in the Northern District of Illinois," they said.  "The increased presence of ghost guns in Chicago, and the country in general, is troubling, as they are often used in crimes and are difficult to trace."