Two were arrested after an officer was tackled to the ground during a large fight at a memorial service in North Chicago where people began fighting with the police and a gun was recovered.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Emily Shanley-Roberts said officers were called around 8 p.m. on April 16 to a large fight in progress at Royal Reflections Event Space, 2300 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in North Chicago.
A person had either been thrown through or punched a front door window of the venue.
Officers observed blood and glass everywhere and fights continued to take place.
Officers were trying to separate people and get the situation under control when a detective observed a man later identified as Michael D. Clayborne, 30, trying to get into a car, Shanley-Roberts said.
Shanley-Roberts said Clayborne was seen throwing a firearm in the car under the driver’s seat.
The firearm was recovered from the floorboard and identified as a Glock 42 handgun, which was loaded with a round in the chamber and six rounds in the magazine.
Clayborne, whose last known address was in North Chicago, informed officers that he now lives in Tennessee.
He told officers that he had a Tennessee Concealed Carry License but he was unable to provide proof of it and could not provide proof that he lives in Tennessee, Shanley-Roberts said.
“Even if he did have a Tennessee CCL, his actions do not fit the nonresident exemption requirements under the Concealed Carry Act. He does not have an Illinois FOID or Illinois CCL,” the prosecutor said.
Officers attempted to take Clayborne into custody and multiple people began to fight with the police.
Shanley-Roberts said Dante L. Terrell Jr., 32, of Zion, was present at the scene but was not involved with Clayborne.
Terrell suddenly sprinted at an officer from 20-25 feet away in what was described as a “full-on WWE spear move,” where he sprinted into the officer’s back, Shanley-Roberts said.
The officer fell to the ground and other officers tried to arrest Terrell. The officer suffered injuries to his knee and ankle and was transported to the hospital.
“Terrell had not been placed under arrest, nor told he was under arrest, nor did officers intend to take him into custody until he ran at and into [the officer],” Shanley-Roberts said.
Clayborne was charged with two counts of aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon, a Class 4 felony.
Terrell was charged with aggravated battery to a peace officer, a Class 2 felony, and resisting a peace officer causing injury, a Class 4 felony.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed petitions to detain Terrell and Clayborne pending trial but withdrew the petition against Clayborne.
Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim placed Clayborne on Level 2 pre-trial services monitoring and ordered him not to possess weapons in the State of Illinois.
Nerheim denied the petition to detain Terrell following a separate detention hearing after saying that Illinois’ SAFE-T Act, which ended cashless bail, does not allow for the offenses Terrell is charged with to be detainable.
The judge placed Terrell on Level 4 pre-trial services monitoring, ordered him not to possess any weapons and have no contact with the event venue where the incident occurred.
Clayborne is scheduled to appear in court again on May 22 for a status of preliminary hearing. Terrell is scheduled to appear in court again on May 27 for a status of preliminary hearing.