A 21-year-old Chicago man who livestreamed himself riding through Riis Park while showing off a loaded handgun equipped with an illegal machine gun conversion device was sentenced Monday to two years in federal prison.
The case began on the evening of May 14, 2025, when Eddie Arguelles brought the loaded weapon to Riis Park, 6100 West Fullerton Avenue, and fired a shot into the air while other people, including children, were present, according to prosecutors.
Arguelles also livestreamed himself riding through the park while wearing a ski mask and displaying the firearm.
“I don’t give a f*** who you is,” Arguelles said in the video while flashing the handgun and making a hand gesture toward the camera.
“This 20 got a switch on it,” he said, referring to the gun and the machine gun conversion device.
The gun recovered by police was actually a Glock 23, .40-caliber pistol, according to federal prosecutors. It had a machine gun conversion device, an extended magazine loaded with 22 bullets, and a laser sight.
But Arguelles’ livestream abruptly gave way to video of a much different scene: Chicago police officers wrestling Arguelles to the ground on the park’s football field as spectators recorded the action on their phones.
“You! Stupid a** n*****!” one judgmental onlooker yelled as a legion of spectators filmed the cops at work.
CPD arrived in response to multiple 911 calls about shots fired and a man with a gun at the park. One caller described a Hispanic man wearing all black and a ski mask who had fired a gun on the football field. When officers arrived, they saw Arguelles matching the description and standing beside a moped, according to court records.
Arguelles got on the moped and fled as officers approached. He drove onto the football field, where he lost control and fell, prosecutors said. Video from a bystander, which quickly went viral, backs up that claim.
Two officers tackled him before he could get away. Arguelles continued resisting, pulling away and stiffening his arms while reaching toward his leg, according to prosecutors. The gun was recovered from the pant leg of Arguelles’ sweatpants.
Arguelles later admitted as part of his written guilty plea that he knew the firearm was equipped with a machine gun conversion device and that he had fired one shot into the air before police arrived.
The federal case also relied heavily on Arguelles’ social media activity. A witness identified an Instagram account using the handle “emurdaswitchemdown” as belonging to Arguelles. The account’s profile picture appeared to show Arguelles holding a firearm equipped with a switch while standing beside an unidentified woman, according to prosecutors.
Federal authorities obtained a warrant for the account in July 2025 and found it contained photographs and videos of him with firearms. The account has since been taken down, but one video cited by prosecutors allegedly showed a person manipulating a handgun while discussing the installation of a switch.
“This little piece right here is what’s blocking the switch,” the person says in the video. “Like they knew a motherf***** was trying to put that b**** in here. That motherf***** is supposed [to] slide all the way in.”
The speaker’s face is not visible in that video, but prosecutors cited the account’s registration to Arguelles and other evidence connecting him to the material.
U.S. District Judge Georgia N. Alexakis sentenced Arguelles to 24 months in federal prison, less than federal prosecutors wanted, but she noted that he had also served several months in the Cook County Jail while the state case was active. That time will not count toward his federal sentence, according to the judge’s order.
But Arguelles’ legal problems are not over. Court records show he has a state robbery case pending in the suburbs when he finishes his federal sentence.
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