Convicted Murderer Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years in Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing Handgun in Chicago Suburb

CHICAGO — A man who was previously convicted of a 1993 kidnapping and murder in Chicago has been sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison for illegally possessing a loaded handgun.

DARNELL LUCKETT illegally possessed the firearm on March 15, 2017, in Maywood, Ill.  Illinois State Police stopped a vehicle Luckett was driving and discovered the gun under the driver’s seat.  During the stop police also found ammunition, heroin, bath salts, marijuana, a digital scale, and counterfeit cash.

Luckett, 51, of Berwyn, Ill., pleaded guilty earlier this year to a federal charge of illegal possession of a firearm.  Luckett had previously been convicted of multiple state felonies, including the 1993 kidnapping and murder of Darren Payton in Chicago, and was prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm.

U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp, Jr., on Monday imposed a 71-month federal prison sentence.

The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.  ISP provided valuable assistance.

“The city of Chicago is plagued by gun violence,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew J. Dixon argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.  “Federal gun laws exist to prevent individuals from being armed who have shown they cannot be trusted to responsibly possess a firearm.”