A Beach Park man and convicted felon has been sentenced to two years in prison after he was found with an AR-15, which had a drum magazine with “penetrator rounds,” during a party in Antioch.
Tabiest Hearton, 23, of Beach Park, was charged in October with three counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, a Class 2 felony, and one count of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, a Class 3 felony.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office later downgraded the charges, dismissing the Class 2 and 3 felonies and electing to charge him with three counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, a Class 4 felony.
The charges stem from an incident around 10 p.m. on October 28 that prompted the Antioch Police Department to respond to the 200 block of Ida Avenue in Antioch for a loud noise complaint involving a large party.
Officers arrived and were met by a crowd exceeding 300 people, according to village officials.
“Safety and order were the priorities of first responders. Officers optimized available manpower to ensure the large crowd safely dispersed with minimal damage to neighboring property and minimal threat to public safety,” village officials said at the time.
The partygoers initially refused to disperse and created an unruly scene throughout the neighborhood.
Almost a dozen police agencies were called to the scene. It took over four hours for the crowd to fully disperse from the area.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Dino Katris said in court that Hearton was stopped by police after they witnessed his vehicle collide with another vehicle and try to flee.
Officers found Hearton was in possession of an AR-15 pistol that had a chambered round and a loaded 50-round drum magazine.
Village officials said the magazine was loaded with green tip .223 rounds, known as “penetrator rounds,” which have enhanced ability to pierce through targets.
The gun was found after officers detained Hearton because he kept reaching downward in his vehicle during the traffic stop, Katris said.
The weapon was found on the floorboard of his vehicle and had the safety disengaged, village officials said.
Court records show Hearton is a convicted felon and was on probation at the time of his arrest for a previous felony weapons charge in Lake County.
Hearton was ordered detained in the Lake County Jail pending trial following his arrest.
Village officials said at the time that the party was thrown by the same people causing similar disturbances in other communities throughout Lake County and was organized by people from outside of Antioch.
The Antioch Police Department was assisted by nine other police agencies, including the Illinois State Police, Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Lindenhurst Police Department, North Chicago Police Department, Waukegan Police Department, Mundelein Police Department, Gurnee Police Department, Grayslake Police Department and the Lake Villa Police Department.
Court records show Hearton entered into a negotiated plea deal with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office last month.
He pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, a Class 4 felony.
Hearton was sentenced to 24 months in the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) pursuant to the plea agreement.
Hearton received 264 days of credit for time served in jail awaiting his case.
IDOC records show Hearton is projected to be paroled from prison on October 28.