A former Cook County man previously convicted of armed robbery and aggravated battery with a firearm was sentenced Monday to 20 years in prison for illegally possessing a machine gun, prosecutors said.

Curtis Lyons, 41, formerly of Maywood, was found guilty of one count of armed habitual criminal, three counts of unlawful use/possession of weapon by a felon and one count of unlawful use/possession of a weapon on Jan. 9, 2026.

The guilty verdict was handed down following a three-day bench trial in December.

About 8:47 p.m. on Jan. 25, 2023, Villa Park police were dispatched to the area of Chatham Avenue and Plymouth Street for a call of shots fired. Upon their arrival, officers found numerous shell casings in the intersection, authorities said.

Officers subsequently learned that Lyons had arranged to sell drugs to an acquaintance while armed with a gun that had been altered with a switch to allow it to fire as a fully automatic weapon, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

Villa Park police found Lyons in a residence on Cornell Avenue where, after executing a search warrant, they found a 9 mm Glock 19 with a fully automatic switch and a laser light, a Smith & Wesson M&P Shield 9 mm, a 50-round drum magazine containing eight rounds and approximately $7,000 in cash, authorities said.

Lyons has remained in custody at the DuPage County Jail since that time.

“Without giving a second thought to his status as a convicted felon, which prohibits him from legally possessing a firearm, Mr. Lyons thumbed his nose at the law and illegally armed himself with a machine gun before heading out on Jan. 25, 2023,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “This type of disregard for our criminal justice system must be met with serious consequences.”

Lyons will be required to serve 85% of his sentence before being eligible for parole.