DeKalb convicted felon accused of selling firearms in Kane County

A DeKalb man and convicted felon is one of two accused of selling firearms earlier this year in a Kane County Home Depot parking lot after an investigation by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

It is illegal for convicted felons to possess firearms in Illinois.

Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced the charges in a news release this week.

Earl Roschell, 31 of DeKalb, is charged in Kane County Circuit Court with three counts of being an armed habitual criminal, one count of gunrunning, three counts of the unlawful sale or delivery of a firearm and one count of conspiracy to commit gunrunning. If convicted of the most serious crime, being an armed habitual criminal, a Class X felony, Roschell could face up to 40 years in prison, according to the release.

The case was referred to Raoul’s office by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives after the bureau’s own investigation. The Aurora Police Department also assisted with this case.

“I am firmly committed to prosecuting illegal gun sales that go hand in hand with gun violence in our communities and other criminal activities throughout Illinois,” Raoul said in the release. “I appreciate collaborations with the ATF and local and federal law enforcement agencies, which is essential to addressing gun trafficking and holding perpetrators accountable for fueling violence in our communities.”

Roschell’s detention hearing is June 28. He already has multiple previous felony convictions related to the unlawful use of weapons, according to the attorney general’s office.

Gerardo Martinez, 30 of Melrose Park, also is charged in the gun-selling scheme, although he is not in police custody as of Tuesday, according to the release.

Martinez is charged with one count of gunrunning, three counts of the unlawful sale or delivery of a firearm, one count of conspiracy to commit gunrunning and four counts of the unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. Martinez faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the most serous crime, gunrunning, a Class 1 felony.

A warrant has been issued for Martinez’s arrest.

Raoul’s office said in the indictment that Roschell was on house arrest and paroled to DeKalb County on March 7, when he and Martinez sold two rifles and one shotgun for $2,300 to two people in an Aurora Home Depot parking lot.

During the sale, Martinez allegedly had a .45 caliber pistol in his sweatshirt pocket.

At the time of his arrest, Roschell was on parole after previously being convicted of the unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, according to Raoul’s office. During that 2021 incident, Roschell was pulled over by Chicago police while driving a vehicle that he was not licensed to operate. When asked to exit the vehicle, Roschell instead accelerated the vehicle toward a Chicago police officer, struck a squad car and another vehicle and hit a fence. Roschell and two other occupants fled the scene and left behind a loaded and chambered 9 mm handgun on the roof of the vehicle, according to the attorney general’s office.

Roschell also was convicted in 2018 of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon in both Kane and Cook counties, and sentenced to seven years in prison, according to the attorney general’s office. Roschell has a 2012 Kane County conviction for aggravated battery for which he was sentenced to five years in prison, Raoul’s office said.

Martinez, who also has a criminal history, has an outstanding 2022 warrant for the unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and the unlawful distribution of a controlled substance over 100 grams, according to the release.

Deputy Bureau Chief Andrew Whitfield is prosecuting the cases for Raoul’s Statewide Grand Jury Bureau.