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U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin sentenced 31-year-old Levion Thomas to 15 years in federal prison after he fatally shot Troy Pouncey near a children’s playground and later sold the murder weapon to an undercover law enforcement officer.
A federal judge has sentenced a 31-year-old convicted felon to 15 years in federal prison for illegally possessing a handgun used in a fatal Chicago shooting.
Federal law strictly prohibited Chicago resident Levion Thomas from possessing any firearms due to a prior felony conviction.
Thomas previously pleaded guilty in Cook County Circuit Court to aggravated unlawful use of a weapon on October 18, 2021.
On December 16, 2021, Thomas signed an official Project Safe Neighborhoods letter acknowledging federal warnings that future gun possession would lead to federal prosecution.
The violent incident unfolded on the afternoon of March 5, 2023, along the 7100 block of South Calumet Avenue on Chicago’s South Side.
Thomas opened fire and fatally shot Troy Pouncey right next to a children’s playground located inside nearby William Meyering Park.
Following the fatal shooting, law enforcement received information that Thomas was actively searching for a buyer to dispose of the murder weapon.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives partnered with the Chicago Police Department on March 7, 2023, to launch an undercover operation.
Investigators set up a sting operation for March 20, 2023, in the parking lot of a strip mall at 2310 East State Street in Burnham, Illinois.
An undercover Chicago police officer sat inside a parked vehicle awaiting Thomas’s arrival at approximately 12:00 p.m.
Thomas approached the vehicle wearing a dark hoodie, black pants, a shoulder backpack, and a black face mask to conceal his identity.
After entering the front passenger seat, Thomas pulled out a Smith & Wesson M&P Shield 9mm pistol and racked the slide to clear the chamber.
Thomas handed the firearm to the undercover officer and placed a pistol magazine onto the center armrest.
During the exchange, Thomas lowered his face mask, revealing his face and a distinct mark on his left cheek that matched his driver’s license photo.
The undercover officer paid Thomas $500 in pre-recorded law enforcement funds for the illegal firearm.
Thomas counted the cash, confirmed the payment, and exited the vehicle three minutes later.
Special Agent Tyler Evans of the ATF filed a formal criminal complaint against Thomas on March 30, 2023, charging him under Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1).
Forensic ballistic tests later confirmed that the 9mm pistol sold in Burnham was the exact weapon used to kill Pouncey two weeks earlier near the playground.
Federal prosecutors subsequently indicted Thomas under Case Number 23 CR 184 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Thomas formally entered a guilty plea in 2024 to one federal count of illegal firearm possession by a felon.
On October 1, 2026, U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin sentenced Thomas to serve 15 years in federal prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julia K. Schwartz and Jessica R. Ecker emphasized during sentencing that Thomas committed murder with the weapon before selling it for cash.
United States Attorney Andrew S. Boutros announced the final sentence alongside leaders from the ATF and the Chicago Police Department.
Thomas will serve his entire 15-year sentence in federal custody because parole does not exist in the federal court system.
