
Officers responding to a disturbance call in Zion arrested an alleged street gang member and convicted felon accused of being armed with a loaded gun while on parole for a gun offense.
The Zion Police Department responded around 2:30 a.m. on November 24 to the 2400 block of Elizabeth Avenue in Zion for a report of a disturbance.
Officers arrived and saw six people standing on the street in front of a residence, according to Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth Cannon.
Cannon said one of the subjects, Jermal A. Johnson, 34, of Zion, saw the officers and ran.
Johnson was seen leaning down concealing something in a bush in the yard and running back to the other people near the street, Cannon said.
Cannon said officers found a loaded Smith and Wesson handgun in the bush where Johnson had been.
Officers arrested Johnson, who denied possessing the gun.
He does not have a Firearm Owner’s Identification card or concealed carry license.
He was charged with armed habitual criminal, a Class X felony, and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, a Class 4 felony.
Johnson is a convicted felon and a documented member of the Four Corner Hustlers, Cannon said.
He has served prison time in the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) for four separate Lake County cases, including aggravated fleeing and eluding a peace officer, manufacturing or delivery of a controlled substance and felon in possession of a firearm.
Johnson was on parole at the time of his latest arrest after having just been released from IDOC in August after serving a five-year sentence for felon in possession of a firearm in a 2022 Lake County case.
He also has a juvenile conviction for a weapons offense.
Attorney Robert T. Ritacca, who is representing Johnson, said in court that his client was looking for lost keys at his cousin’s birthday party when the police arrived.
Ritacca said there was no evidence that Johnson possessed the gun.
He argued that Johnson was misidentified for someone else in the group of people that were outside.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Johnson pending trial.
The petition was granted by Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim who remanded Johnson to the Lake County Jail.
The judge noted Johnson’s criminal history and said he believes the man poses a significant threat to the community.
Johnson is set to appear in court again for a preliminary hearing on December 30.