5 charged, guns and drugs seized after compliance checks in Cicero, Illinois, police say

Five people, including two parolees, are in custody after compliance checks led to the seizure of drugs, cash, and weapons, including a ghost gun, the Cicero Police Department announced on Wednesday.

Police said that Friday's parole compliance operation by the Illinois Department of Corrections, supported by the Cicero Police Special Operations Division, targeted parolees who were registered as living at three homes. 

During the operation, authorities found $10,000 in cash, an AR-15 assault rifle ghost gun, a shotgun, four semi-automatic handguns, as well as oxycodone, cocaine, psychedelic mushrooms, and cannabis.

'Ghost guns' refer to unserialized, privately made firearms often sold as parts to be assembled at home, allowing purchasers to circumvent background checks. They cannot be traced by conventional means and can be created on a 3-D printer, leaving no record of their ownership.  

Salvador Camacho, 25, who police said was released from prison last year after being convicted of aggravated battery with use of a deadly weapon, was charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, manufacturing and delivering cocaine, and possession of a controlled substance after a check at his residence in the 1500 block of South 51st Court.

In a separate check that morning, in the 1800 block of South 56th Court, Jessika Torres, 23, admitted that a semi-automatic handgun in the home was hers. She was charged with felony possession of that firearm.

The final check occurred in the 5800 block of West 26th Street, where Victor Ramirez, 24, who police said had been released from prison earlier this year after being sentenced to three years in prison for reckless discharge of a firearm and fleeing police in a stolen vehicle, had multiple guns in the apartment, along with cash and drugs. He was charged with armed violence and unlawful use of a weapon.

Police said the smell of cannabis coming from the basement of the residence led to the arrests of siblings Demoyne Blakemore, 26, and Deonta Blakemore, 21, who were found along with packages of cocaine, with cannabis stacked against the walls. Each was charged with manufacturing and delivering cocaine, possession of cocaine, manufacturing and delivering cannabis, and possession of cannabis.

Torres and the Blakemores are being held without bond in the Cook County Jail. Camacho and Ramirez are also in the Cook County Jail, awaiting transfer to IDOC custody.