Two juveniles and an adult were arrested and numerous guns were recovered after an undercover detective was robbed at gunpoint during an undercover operation in Beach Park.
The Lake County Sheriffโs Office Special Investigations Group (SIG) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Chicago Field Division were conducting a purchase of firearms on Friday from a 17-year-old Beach Park boy who was trafficking guns.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said an undercover detective met with the 17-year-old to purchase a firearm around 1 p.m.
The detective met with the juvenile in a parking lot in the 38400 block of North Sheridan Road in Beach Park.
The juvenile pulled a semi-automatic pistol from his waistband while the two were talking, Covelli said.
The suspect charged the firearm by racking the slide, pointed the gun at the detectiveโs face and demanded the detective give him the money he came with to buy the firearm.
The juvenile told the undercover detective that he would “blow his brains out” if he did not comply, Covelli said.
The undercover detective complied and gave the money to the juvenile, who then fled on foot.
Multiple other detectives monitoring the transaction moved in during the armed robbery, Covelli said.
The juvenile was taken into custody after a brief foot chase. The juvenile threw the firearm he used in the robbery during the chase.
The firearm was later located by Lake County Sheriffโs Canine Duke.
The money the juvenile stole from the undercover detective was also recovered.
Covelli said two suspects who were acting as the juvenileโs lookout during the armed robbery were also apprehended by detectives.
One was a 16-year-old from Kenosha, Wisconsin, who was armed with a semi-automatic pistol that had been converted to be fully automatic with an extended magazine.
The other, Patrick Neal, 22, of Beach Park, was also armed with a semi-automatic pistol converted to be fully automatic with an extended magazine. Neal is a documented street gang member.
Sheriffโs detectives obtained and conducted a search warrant at the 17-year-old boy’s home, Covelli said.
They located an AR pistol loaded with a rifle round, ammunition, extended magazines and a drum magazine.
“Our Special Investigations Group investigate and arrest some of the most violent criminals in society. They, along with police officers everywhere, put their lives on the line every day to protect our communities,” Lake County Sheriff John D. Idleburg said.
“I cannot stress enough how thankful I am that none of our staff was injured in this incident. We will work with the stateโs attorneyโs office to ensure this violent teen and his accomplices are held accountable for their actions,” Idleburg said.
The 17-year-old was transported to the Hulse Juvenile Detention Facility and petitioned on the charges of armed robbery, three counts of unlawful use of a weapon and obstructing a peace officer.
Neal had four outstanding warrants and was also charged with armed robbery, aggravated unlawful possession of a machine gun, unauthorized possession of a firearm by a street gang member, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon.
Neal remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing on Monday.
The 16-year-old was transported to the Hulse Juvenile Detention Facility and petitioned on the charge of unlawful use of a weapon.