Officers spotted and arrested a man who was armed with a loaded machine gun and a second gun with armor-piercing rounds at the popular Scoop the Loop event in downtown Waukegan.
Cire M. Anderson, 22, of Zion, was charged with one count of possession of a machine gun, six counts of aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon, two counts of felon in possession of a weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm projectile.
Officers with the Waukegan Police Department were on routine patrol on Saturday at the Scoop the Loop event in downtown Waukegan, according to Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Brooke Wanzenberg.
Officers saw Anderson and two of his friends standing by a building at Washington Street and Genesee Street.
Anderson was wearing a purple backpack and he was “visibly nervous” as officers approached, Wanzenberg said.
A bulge, indicating a firearm, was seen in Anderson’s waistband.
He was taken into custody and a search resulted in a Glock 22 pistol in his waistband, Wanzenberg said.
The gun was loaded with a round in the chamber and equipped with an automatic switch, which renders the gun fully automatic.
The backpack that Anderson was wearing was heavy and inside was another loaded gun with armor-piercing rounds, which a detective described as a pistol with the capability of shooting rifle rounds, Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth Cannon said.
Anderson’s iPad and cellphone were also inside the backpack.
Cannon said Anderson admitted that the gun in his waistband was his but claimed the gun in the backpack did not belong to him.
Anderson told police that the gun in his waistband he had found in the street on July 4 and kept it, Cannon said.
Anderson is a convicted felon and does not have a Firearm Owner’s Identification card or concealed carry license.
He was also on probation at the time of his arrest for an aggravated unlawful use of a weapon case out of Zion.
“This Defendant, a felon currently on probation for a firearms offense, brought a loaded machine gun and a pistol capable of shooting rifle rounds, loaded with armor piercing bullets, into a crowded summer street festival,” Cannon said.
“There are no conditions or combination of conditions that a Court could impose that could otherwise mitigate the dangerousness that this Defendant poses to our community,” the prosecutor argued.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Anderson pending trial, calling him a danger to the community.
Cire appeared in First Appearance Court on Sunday and remains held in the Lake County Jail as he awaits a detention hearing, which was scheduled for Monday afternoon.