Prosecutors said a 25-year-old man flashed gang signs at police officers who were on patrol in Waukegan before being found with a loaded gun while he was on pre-trial release for possessing a rifle.
Tyreek J. Bills, 25, of Waukegan, was charged with three counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful use of cannabis by a driver, disregarding a stop sign and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.
Officers with the Waukegan Police Department were near Butrick Street and Washington Street in the early morning hours on July 14, according to Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Emily Shanley-Roberts.
Bills, who was wearing a mask, was driving a 2012 Ford Expedition and drove past the officers while displaying gang signs at them, Shanley-Roberts said.
Officers followed the car and saw it disregard a stop sign behind Poppy’s on Washington Park.
Shanley-Roberts said officers conducted a traffic stop and Bills began looking for his proof of insurance.
Officers saw a green leafy substance in the vehicle and asked Bills and his girlfriend to get out of the car.
Bills advised officers that everything belonged to him in the car, Shanley-Roberts said. They found a Glock 27 handgun under the driver’s seat.
The gun had a loaded magazine inserted into it, Shanley-Roberts said. Bills does not have a Firearm Owner’s Identification card or a concealed carry license.
Bills was previously arrested by the North Chicago Police Department in May for possessing a rifle in a vehicle, Shanley-Roberts said. He was on pre-trial release in that case during his most recent arrest.
“The defendant has no regard for laws, rules, court orders, or minimally common sense,” Shanley-Roberts said in court.
Attorney Robert T. Ritacca, who is representing Bills, said his client is not a danger to the community and asked for his release on electronic monitoring pending trial.
Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak ordered Bills held in the Lake County Jail after granting a petition to detain him.
The judge noted that Bills had previously been charged in criminal cases as a juvenile and was on pre-trial release for illegally possessing a gun at the time of the instant arrest.
Bills is scheduled to appear in court again on August 22 for a preliminary hearing.