Suburban Man Gets 12 Years In Federal Prison For Drug Trafficking

LAKE C0UNTY, IL — A suburban man has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison on drug trafficking charges.

William Fillyaw was arrested in October 2022 after authorities found him in a parking lot of an apartment complex in Gurnee with a backpack that contained cocaine, which had been packaged in quarter-ounce quantities. The fentanyl had been wrapped in three square bricks, according to a news release from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Fillyaw, 47, also had a gun on him, authorities said. Authorities say Fillyaw intended to sell the fentanyl and cocaine on the streets, and he acknowledged possessing the gun in connection with his drug trafficking activities. The firearm had no serial number and had been assembled from a gun kit, making it an untraceable “ghost gun.”

Fillyaw entered a guilty plea to the federal drug and firearm charges earlier this year. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly sentenced Fillyaw to 12 years in prison during a hearing in federal court in Chicago.

“Narcotics distribution and firearm offenses are serious crimes that adversely impact the people who live and work in the Northern District of Illinois,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirsten Moran and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Niranjan Emani argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “The increased presence of ghost guns in Chicago, and the country in general, is troubling, as they are often used in crimes and are difficult to trace.”