Chicago man gets 3 years for possession of 'Trump gun'

CHICAGO — In a city awash with firearms, finding a gun in the possession of a convicted felon in Chicago is hardly an unusual occurrence.

But what about one emblazoned with Donald Trump’s image?

That’s what happened in October 2020 when parole officers visited Sheldon Bains’ South Side home and found a 9 mm Glock 19 pistol hidden under a mattress along with bags of marijuana, according to federal prosecutors.

Not only had the gun been custom-etched with Trump’s stern-looking face on the grip, there were also the words “Trump 45th” and a presidential seal on one side of the barrel, and the phrase “Keep America Great!” on the barrel’s other side.

The “Trump gun,” as it was referred to in court records, had belonged to Bains’ relative, Charles Johnson, but it was stolen a few months earlier, according to court records. Bains, who at the time was on parole for a robbery conviction, denied knowing that the gun was in the bedroom, and later tried to convince his 15-year-old nephew to take the rap.

“Hey, killa go on make it happen for me,” Bains told his nephew in a recorded call from Cook County Jail a few weeks after his arrest, according to court records. “They can’t do nothin’ to you. They can’t charge both of us. … If you leave me like this man, they goin — they can do somethin’ to me, man.”

In handing Bains a three-year sentence on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland said she found Bains’ attempt to pressure his nephew one of the more disturbing aspects of the case.

“You’re putting pressure on him to take responsibility for this gun and he’s a kid,” Rowland said, as Bains sat at the defense table in orange jail clothes. “You’re 46. Man up! … You’re the cool uncle. You should be telling him ‘Get the hell out of this life. Get as far away from it as you can.’ Don’t drag him down.”

Rowland acknowledged that for someone like Bains, who lost a father and brother to gun violence and has been shot and wounded himself on four separate occasions, having a gun is simply a way of life, but it’s something Bains is going to have to learn to live without.

“It’s a crime. You cannot have a gun,” the judge said. “But you are someone who gets shot … you’ve been shot four times. How are you going to manage that? That’s going to be a real challenge.”

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