CHICAGO — A felon has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for illegally possessing a handgun and using it to fatally shoot a man in Chicago.

LEVION THOMAS illegally possessed the handgun on March 20, 2023, when he sold it to an undercover law enforcement officer. As a previously convicted felon, Thomas was prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm.

Two weeks earlier, Thomas used the same gun to fatally shoot Troy Pouncey in the 7100 block of South Calumet Avenue in Chicago. The fatal shooting occurred in the afternoon next to a children’s playground in nearby William Meyering Park.

Thomas, 31, of Chicago, pleaded guilty in 2024 to a federal charge of illegal firearm possession. On Oct. 1, 2026, U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin sentenced Thomas to 15 years in federal prison.

The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Christopher Amon, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and Fred Waller, Interim Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. “Thomas’s gun possession and sale were serious, but this case presents unique aggravating circumstances because Thomas used the firearm that he sold to murder someone,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julia K. Schwartz and Jessica R. Ecker argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “Too many people in this city believe that they can unlawfully possess firearms with impunity. This needs to stop.”

“The defendant knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm, yet chose to arm himself and use that firearm to take another person’s life," said ATF SAC Amon. "Through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), agents were able to connect the firearm recovered from the defendant to a murder committed two weeks earlier, providing a critical link in the investigation. The statutory maximum 15-year federal prison sentence imposed in this case reflects the seriousness of the defendant’s actions and the consequences of illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. ATF will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate offenders who illegally possess firearms and use them to threaten the safety of our communities.”