Prosecutors say an intoxicated Round Lake Beach man rolled his truck over multiple times in Fox Lake and officers arrested him after finding a gun and cocaine in his vehicle.
Bryan Ayala-Camarena, 27, of Round Lake Beach, was charged with three counts of aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a controlled substance, driving under the influence, unlawful possession of cannabis by a driver, improper lane usage and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.
The Fox Lake Police Department responded around 1:51 p.m. on June 14 to the area of Route 134 and Cambridge Parkway in Fox Lake for a report of a single-vehicle crash.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth Cannon said Ayala-Camarena’s 1999 Dodge Ranger truck was severely damaged and came to rest on its roof. The airbags did not deploy.
Ayala-Camarena was the driver and sole occupant of the Dodge. He suffered cuts to his hand.
Officers found a small baggie containing 1.91 grams of a substance that field-tested positive for cocaine.
A Glock 22 pistol, which had a loaded magazine inserted, was found wedged between the driver’s seat and the center console.
Ayala-Camarena does not have a Firearm Owner’s Identification card or concealed carry license, Cannon said.
A witness who called 911 to report the crash told officers he saw Ayala-Camarena driving “really fast” before swerving off the roadway.
The truck bounced off a curb and the truck rolled over at least three times.
Cannon said officers reported Ayala-Camarena exhibited signs of intoxication and determined he was driving under the influence of drugs.
Ayala-Camarena made inconsistent statements about the gun and initially said he got it a week prior, Cannon said. He then said he got it a few months prior and that his house had been shot up in January.
Ayala-Camarena then said his friend purchased the gun from a shop in McHenry and was planning to transfer ownership of it to Ayala-Camarena’s father, Cannon said.
Cannon said Ayala-Camarena told officers he “might” have touched the gun and refused to provide DNA.
“This Defendant is clearly a danger to the safety of the community, and the Court should note that this offense involves the use of a weapon. In the middle of the day, he crashed his truck after driving under the influence of drugs. Inside of his truck was a loaded gun that this Defendant did not have a legal right to possess, that was uncased, loaded, and immediately accessible,” Cannon said.
“The Defendant drove so erratically that his truck bounced off the curb and rolled at least three times. There are no conditions nor combination of conditions that this Defendant will abide by, as he broke several laws in both carrying a loaded gun, driving while intoxicated, and possessing illegal controlled substances. This Defendant should be detained to protect the community,” Cannon added.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Ayala-Camarena pending trial and Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted the petition during a detention hearing last week.
A petition to revoke Ayala-Camarena’s pre-trial release in another pending case was also filed and granted.
Attorney Robert T. Ritacca, who is representing Ayala-Camarena, said that his client’s friend owns the gun and he had placed it in the truck when the two went to get propane from a store the night prior.
Ritacca said Ayala-Camarena was scared to tell the police that the gun belonged to his friend because the friend does not have a concealed carry license.
Ayala-Camarena remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on Tuesday for a status of preliminary hearing.