DETROIT – A federal court judge is sending a Metro Detroit gun dealer to prison after finding out he was selling semi automatic weapons before and after meetings with his parole agent.
Juan Eagle made trips every month to the federal courthouse to see his parole office, and while in the city, he decided to do a little business selling illegal weapons.
"What more blatant demonstration of his total disregard of the justice system could you expect than a person going down and saying, 'Yes, I'm doing everything I'm supposed to,' then committing criminal conduct," Local 4 legal expert Keith Corbett said.
Eagle sold AK-47s, Barettas, handguns and rifles right before or after reporting to his parole officer that he was now on the straight and narrow. Fortunately, the multiple sales of dangerous weapons were to undercover federal agents.
"I can't imagine a worse time in this country to be involved in the selling of illegal assault rifles," Corbett said. "We all see the potential for incredible harm."
Corbett said in the wake of multiple mass shootings across the nation, the federal government is ramping up efforts to take down those selling dangerous weapons.
In what seemed like a Hail Mary for mercy, Eagle told the court he was committing the crimes because he was despondent over being locked up behind bars and missing his mother's funeral.
In a tribute, he got a tattoo of her obituary. Federal officials weren't impressed, asking the judge to lock Eagle up for nearly 10 years.
"That was his choice and his conduct that put him there, and maybe he wasn't able to attend the funeral, but a much greater tribute to his mother would be to fix his life up," Corbett said.
The prosecutor asked for 100 months, and the judge settled on 86 months, which is a little longer than seven years.
Eagle is only 26 years old, so he will have plenty of time to try to turn his life around if the message gets through to him.
Officials said he got the guns wherever he could. Some came from friends in Chicago and Atlanta, some came from a friend who worked at a gun store and one of the weapons he sold for $500 was used in a breaking and entering in 2012.
Federals officials are still investigating the sources of his gun supply.