Pretrial release has been revoked for a Lake County man who picked up new criminal charges after police recovered an AR-15, a defaced shotgun, 1,000 rounds of ammunition, and 1,300 grams of cannabis in his home.
Jose Turcios, 22, was ordered detained until trial by Lake County Circuit Court Judge Michael Nerheim after being charged after his May 23 arrest with possession of cannabis, manufacturing and delivering cannabis, aggravated assault, and possession of a defaced firearm.
The charge for manufacturing and delivery of cannabis is a Class 2 felony, while possession of a defaced shotgun and possession of large quantities of cannabis are Class 3 felonies, court records show. The aggravated assault charge is a class A misdemeanor, court records show.
Turcios was out on pretrial release on a misdemeanor count of possession of a firearm dating back to February of 2024 when he was picked up by police on May 23.
Assistant Lake County State’s Attorney Elizabeth Cannon said during Turcios’ revocation hearing Tuesday that the Lake County man drove to a Waukegan home where three people he had known since high school were located and demanded they come out.
Cannon said Turcios was holding a handgun when telling the three victims he was holding the mother of the home. He then pointed the gun at one of the victims and told her to have her boyfriend exit the house.
The victim was so scared she fled the home in her vehicle, Cannon said.
Cannon said the victims told police that Turcios appeared to be intoxicated and fled the scene after the incident.
He was located by police shortly after, Cannon said.
Following his arrest, Turcios admitted he had a handgun sitting next to his bed in his residence, prompting police to obtain a search warrant for the home.
Inside, police found three firearms, including a Glock handgun matching the gun pointed at the victims, Cannon said.
In addition, police recovered an AR-15 assault weapon, a shotgun with a defaced serial number, body armor and over 1,000 rounds of live ammunition, Cannon said.
Police also found over 1,300 grams of a substance that field tested positive for cannabis, THC gummies, THC wax, 5 grams of mushrooms, baking chocolate and other items to manufacture THC edibles, Cannon said.
“His violent and volatile behavior, along with everything recovered from his home at a time when he was told not to commit any new offenses, demonstrates the need for detention,” Cannon told Nerheim.
Defense attorney Matthew Gebhardt said Turcios had a different version of events leading up to the interaction with police, and that the shotgun was not defaced as authorities have claimed.
Nerheim detained Turcios because, despite knowing he was on release for gun charges, he obtained felonies for “drugs and three firearms, with one of them being an unserialized AR-15.”
Turcios is due back in court on June 20.