The father of rapper Mello Buckzz was arraigned on federal firearms charges Tuesday, just days after drive-by gunmen targeted her fans in River North, leaving four people dead and 14 others wounded.
Federal officials say Melvin Doyle illegally sold 13 guns since May 20 to confidential informants working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) — including one transaction that took place after the July 2 mass shooting outside Artis Lounge, where his daughter, Melanie Doyle, had hosted a record release party.
A law enforcement source told CWBChicago that investigators have found no evidence connecting Doyle’s alleged gun sales to the shooting outside the lounge at 311 West Chicago Avenue. While the complaint does not mention his daughter, a source confirmed that Doyle is the rapper’s father.
According to a federal complaint filed Tuesday, the ATF launched its investigation based on information from a confidential informant who had known Doyle for about three years. That informant, along with two others, worked with agents to document a series of gun purchases that were secretly recorded.
The first sale occurred on May 20, when Doyle sold a purple .40-caliber Glock pistol to two informants at his home in the 5800 block of South Martin Luther King Drive for $800, the complaint said. During the meeting, Doyle allegedly told the informants that the gun was his personal weapon and that he planned to travel to Alabama with five more firearms to sell.
On May 29, Doyle allegedly sold two informants a 9mm Glock pistol for $1,200. Nearly a month later, on June 24, he sold a multi-caliber rifle and two pistols for $3,800, the complaint said. Another deal took place on July 1 — the day before the River North mass shooting — when Doyle allegedly sold four pistols and a 12-gauge shotgun for $5,000. The final transaction occurred on Monday, July 7, when he sold three more pistols for $3,000, according to the complaint.
Federal agents arrested Doyle following Monday’s transaction.
According to the complaint, Doyle is prohibited from possessing firearms due to prior felony convictions, including attempted murder in 1998, manufacture and delivery of controlled substances in 2003, and manufacture and delivery of heroin in 2006.
He is now charged federally with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
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