A Chicago-area man has been charged with federal firearms offenses after a months-long gun trafficking investigation culminated in a violent robbery attempt against undercover agents that left two suspects shot by a law enforcement response team. Tevin Curlee, also known as TC, is charged with unlawful possession and transfer of a machine gun, according to a federal complaint.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives had been investigating Curlee and others for firearms trafficking since April, and agents purchased guns from him twice this month before last Tuesday’s chaotic encounter, the complaint said.
On June 3, Curlee allegedly told a federal informant he would sell an “automatic with a banana clip” for $1,600 and later that same day sold a firearm equipped with a machine gun conversion device to an undercover agent outside a business in Crestwood.
“Ain’t goin lie I got five more of them,” Curlee allegedly told the agent during the transaction.
At this point, Curlee faces charges only for selling that one machine gun. But federal officials say he sold at least one other firearm this month and arranged even more last Tuesday in a deal that went sideways in a hurry.
Through a confidential informant, agents arranged a third transaction with Curlee on June 9, agreeing to buy eight firearms for $8,700. That afternoon, two undercover ATF agents and their informant picked up Curlee in Crestwood in a covert vehicle equipped with audio and video recording equipment and drove to a meeting location in Country Club Hills, where they expected to receive the guns from a second party.
About 30 minutes later, a Dodge Dart carrying six people arrived and parked on the block. Four of the occupants were wearing balaclava-style masks. Federal authorities say Amir Fagan and Demond Edwards got out of the vehicle and approached the undercover car. At the same time, a man later identified as Cashonn Toney stepped out of the driver’s seat while another unidentified person emerged from the Dart and pointed a firearm at the agents, officials said.
Fagan allegedly turned and pulled a handgun from inside his jacket while Edwards removed one from a backpack. Both men pointed their weapons at the undercover agents and the informant, according to court records. One of the agents drew his service weapon and ordered them to drop their guns.
Moments later, an armed ATF response team arrived in a Dodge Ram pickup truck and an all-terrain vehicle with emergency lights on. Seeing Fagan and Edwards pointing firearms at the undercover agents, members of the team opened fire. Fagan was struck in the head and arm, a federal complaint says.
Officers chased a man they believed was Edwards and caught up with him about two blocks from the scene. When they ordered him to stop, he allegedly said, “I’m not going back to jail,” before a physical struggle broke out. During the confrontation, Edwards allegedly struck an officer multiple times in the face and body before the officer shot him. Investigators later recovered a firearm from the roof of a nearby home close to where Edwards was shot.
Toney, meanwhile, allegedly tried to escape in the Dodge Dart but crashed into an occupied ATF vehicle before abandoning the car and running on foot. Officers eventually tracked him down after a tip from a nearby resident.
Because one of the officers who fired shots was a Chicago police officer assigned to the ATF task force, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability issued a statement Thursday saying it had opened an investigation into the use of force.
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