A Waukegan teenager was arrested after prosecutors say he was armed with a machine gun with an extended magazine and ran from officers during a traffic stop in North Chicago.
The North Chicago Police Department conducted a traffic stop on a blue 2001 Nissan sedan on December 16 after the car was spotted with a burnt-out headlight.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Theis said the vehicle pulled over and a passenger, later identified as Anderson Raudales-Hernandez, 18, of Waukegan, got out of the car.
Raudales-Hernandez was wearing all black and holding his waist, Theis said. The officer told the man to stop but Raudales-Hernandez ran away.
Officers established a perimeter and began searching before locating Raudales-Hernandez, who was positively identified as the person who fled, Theis said.
An officer noticed that Raudales-Hernandez was not wearing his jacket anymore and a police canine performed an article search but did not locate anything.
Officers began canvassing the area and located a black jacket in a trash can near where Raudales-Hernandez was located, Theis said.
A loaded Glock 19 handgun, which had a 33-round magazine inserted, was also found in the trash can next to the jacket.
Theis said the gun was equipped with an auto sear, also known as a “switch,” that rendered the firearm fully automatic.
Raudales-Hernandez invoked his right to an attorney and did not speak with police, Theis said.
He was charged with unlawful possession of a machine gun, possession of a firearm not eligible for a FOID and three counts of aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon.
Raudales-Hernandez has an extensive juvenile criminal history that includes numerous gun charges and has served time in the Juvenile Department of Corrections.
He is currently on juvenile probation for shooting a person and has an active warrant in that case.
“This defendant just turned eighteen in October of 2025 and is riding in a vehicle and then fled police with a loaded Glock 19 handgun that had been adapted to fire like a machine gun where one pull of the trigger would fire multiple bullets,” Theis said.
“There are no conditions or combination of conditions that will mitigate the threat this defendant poses to the community and we ask that he be detained,” he added.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Raudales-Hernandez pending trial and Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted the request during a detention hearing.
The judge said Raudales-Hernandez has a history of failing to appear in court and failing to comply with court orders.
Raudales-Hernandez remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear for an arraignment hearing on Thursday.