A man convicted of murdering a child has been charged in federal court with stockpiling dozens of shotguns, rifles and handguns in his West Side home.
Henry Reyes, 52, was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury on charges of possessing 52 guns as a convicted felon in his Lawndale home, according to the U.S. State’s Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Illinois.
He is not allowed to own a firearm because of his conviction in the mid-1980s of killing a 10-year-old boy, prosecutors said.
Reyes and his stepson were arrested Aug. 15 when police raided Reyes’ home in the 4300 block of West Cullerton Street and allegedly found 30 handguns, 15 rifles and seven shotguns, Chicago police and prosecutors said.
Last week, Reyes was initially charged by federal authorities with possessing just one of the weapons — a semi-automatic pistol with a defaced serial number, authorities said. The federal complaint states that Reyes told investigators he collects guns.
In a news conference after the raid, police speculated that Reyes was selling guns out of his home. But his neighbors disputed the claim, and told a reporter from the Chicago Sun-Times that he didn’t sell them.
Reyes remains in federal custody, and his arraignment has not been scheduled, prosecutors said.
In 1986, Reyes was one of four men convicted of murdering 10-year-old Bobby Hughes in West Town a year earlier. Reyes, who was 19 at the time, was allegedly with other gang members when they fired shots at their target, who had beaten one of their colleagues earlier, prosecutors said. Reyes and two others opened fire at the target, but fatally struck Hughes in the chest.
Reyes and the other two shooters pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 30 years in prison. The getaway driver also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years.
