Bond was officially revoked Wednesday for a Chicago man who federal prosecutors say tried to illegally purchase a handgun in Indiana while awaiting trial on charges alleging he incited and participated in looting during the civil unrest that gripped the city last summer.
James Massey was arrested last month after prosecutors filed documents under seal alleging he was caught on surveillance camera at an unidentified gun store in Hammond on Aug. 11 trying to purchase a 9 mm pistol.
The purchase was denied after a background check at the store revealed Massey was charged in U.S. District Court in Chicago in March with inciting riots and looting, prosecutors said in the filing.
Those charges alleged Massey had posted multiple videos and messages on Facebook calling for people to travel downtown Chicago to engage in property damage and looting, including one reading “ATTENTION ATTENTION LOTTING START AT 12am. DOWNTOWN AREA AND UP NORTH AREA ONLY BRING YA TOOLS SKI MASK AND GLOVES.”
A criminal complaint also alleged Massey participated in the looting of a marijuana dispensary in the 900 block of West Weed Street, a retail store in the 800 block of North Michigan Avenue, a convenience store in the city’s South Loop neighborhood and a cellphone store in the West Loop.
A federal magistrate judge had released Massey on an unsecured $7,500 bond in that case. At the time, Massey told pretrial court officials he lived with his mother on Chicago’s South Side, according to prosecutors.
When Massey filled out the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives form to purchase the firearm, however, he presented an Indiana state ID listing an address in Hammond, prosecutors said. He also checked a box certifying he was not currently charged with any felony cases in any district.
His lawyer, Michael Schmiege, argued Wednesday that his client was unaware that the terms of his release barred him from buying a firearm. He asked U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly to release him to home detention under the care of his mother.
But Kennelly sided with prosecutors, ruling that in light of the bond violations there were no conditions that would ensure the safety of the community or that Massey would appear in court.
![A current administrator at the high school in Oak Park will be the principal of East Leyden High School starting next school year, Leyden High School District 212 officials announced. Julie Lam will start as head of the school, located in Franklin Park, as of July 1. But a SD212 spokeswoman told Pioneer Press that Lam is expected to work with outgoing Principal Dominic Manola “on a transition plan” and will likely be at the school ahead of that official start date. “We are incredibly excited to welcome Dr. Lam to the Leyden Family. Her vast experiences in the classroom […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/JHL-headshot-2023.jpg?w=263 "A current administrator at the high school in Oak Park will be the principal of East Leyden High School starting next school year, Leyden High School District 212 officials announced. Julie Lam will start as head of the school, located in Franklin Park, as of July 1. But a SD212 spokeswoman told Pioneer Press that Lam is expected to work with outgoing Principal Dominic Manola “on a transition plan” and will likely be at the school ahead of that official start date. “We are incredibly excited to welcome Dr. Lam to the Leyden Family. Her vast experiences in the classroom […]")
