A woman was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for her role in the straw purchase of a handgun used to kill one central Illinois police officer and injure another during a shootout.
Regina Lewis, 28, of Normal, Illinois, was charged Tuesday with conspiracy to buy and transfer a firearm and conspiracy to engage in misleading conduct, according to a release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois.
Lewis received his sentence on Friday. She previously admitted to plotting with Ashantae Corruthers and Darion Lafayette to purchase the gun in 2020 at an Indianapolis gun store for Lafayette, Lewis’ cousin, who was a convicted felon and could not legally purchase a firearm.
Corruthers lied on a form for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, claiming she purchased the gun for herself. She later reported the stolen gun to Indianapolis police in 2021.
On May 19, 2021, Officer Christopher Oberheim was killed and Officer Jeffrey Creel was injured after responding to a report of a domestic disturbance at an apartment complex in Champaign.
Lafayette was also killed by gunfire.
Corruthers, of Indianapolis, pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy to defraud the government by purchasing and transporting the gun to Lafayette and then concealing the transaction by falsely reporting its theft. Her sentencing date is set for February 12, 2024.
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