Two charged with gunrunning in Kane County

Two men with a history of gun crimes have been charged with illegally selling guns in Kane County.

Earl Roschell, 31, of the 1200 block of Blackhawk Road in DeKalb, is charged with three counts of armed habitual criminal. He is also charged with one count of gunrunning, three counts of unlawful sale or delivery of a firearm, and one count of conspiracy to commit gunrunning.

He is being held in the Kane County jail. A pretrial detention hearing continues Friday in Kane County Circuit Court.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Gerardo Martinez, 30, of the 100 block of South 12th Avenue, Melrose Park. He is charged with one count of gunrunning, three counts of the unlawful sale or delivery of a firearm, one count of conspiracy to commit gunrunning and four counts of the unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.

A news release from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office said he and Martinez sold two rifles and one shotgun for $2,300 to two people on March 7 in the parking lot of a store in Aurora. Martinez had a .45-caliber pistol in the pocket of his sweatshirt, according to the release.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives began the investigation and referred it to Raoul’s office. Aurora police assisted.

Roschell is on parole for a 2021 Cook County gun case. In that case, Chicago police stopped Roschell for driving a vehicle he was not licensed to operate. When police ordered him to get out, Roscell accelerated toward an officer and hit a squad car, another car and a fence. He then ran off, leaving a loaded 9mm handgun on the roof of the vehicle.

Roschell was convicted in 2018 in Cook and Kane counties of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and was convicted in 2012 in Kane County of aggravated battery.

Martinez is also wanted on a 2022 case where he is charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and the unlawful distribution of a controlled substance over 100 grams.