Nearly 70 shell casings were recovered after three masked gunmen, some armed with machine guns, engaged in a shootout that left cars and apartment buildings struck by gunfire in North Chicago, prosecutors said.
The North Chicago Police Department responded around 1:01 a.m. on March 14 to reports of shots fired in the 1400 block of Hervey Avenue in North Chicago.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth Cannon said two ShotSpotter alerts were received.
The first was for 25 rounds and the second was for 15 rounds.
Police located 68 spent shell casings, including 44 9mm rounds and 24 .40 caliber rounds, Cannon said.
The spent shell casings were in the parking lot up to 15th Street, down the alley and in both the front and back areas of the apartment building in the 1400 block of Hervey Avenue.
Police determined that no one was shot but residential buildings and vehicles were struck by gunfire, Cannon said.
Responding officers obtained video surveillance that showed three masked subjects wearing all black clothing exiting the rear door of an apartment.
The three subjects are seen running towards the alley, assuming shooting stances, displaying firearms and firing weapons towards a moving vehicle that was then seen fleeing from the area, Cannon said.
Prosecutors did not say how many bullets were fired by each group.
The three suspects ran towards the rear door of the apartment after leaving the weapons in a window well.
Additional surveillance video showed an occupied vehicle firing back at the suspects, Cannon said.
Investigators suspect the behavior was tied to rival gang activity where members will inform a rival gang of their location and they meet up and shoot at each other.
Police are familiar with the apartment where the suspects went into and know it to be the residence of Shonte D. Polk, 19, of North Chicago.
Cannon said Polk’s grandfather opened the door and falsely told police that no one was inside the apartment.
Police called out for Polk and he ended up coming to the front door. Cody M. Gardet, 18, of North Chicago, and a third man also came to the door.
The three were detained and officers secured the apartment and the occupants while they obtained a search warrant.
A fourth man, Guyan K. Burnett Jr., 18, of North Chicago, was found hiding from police in a closet in the corner bedroom belonging to Polk’s grandfather, Cannon said.
An unfinished lower of a firearm, two auto switches and the barrel for a pistol were found in Polk’s bedroom, Cannon said.
Three firearms were recovered from the covered window well attached to the rear of the apartment.
Those included a loaded Glock 23, which had an auto sear device or a “switch” attached to it, rendering it fully automatic, and a loaded Glock 17, which also had a “switch” attached and a laser, Cannon said.
A Jabor 9mm rifle pistol, which is a mini rifle capable of shooting pistol rounds, was also found and was loaded with a round in the chamber.
Cannon said Gardet, Polk and Burnett are all under 21 and have no Firearm Owner’s Identification cards or concealed carry licenses.
A gunshot residue kit was positive on Polk’s right hand, Cannon said. Burnett is a convicted felon on probation for illegally possessing a weapon.
Polk and Burnett are known to police as street gang members of Cutthroat Nation, Cannon said.
Burnett, Gardet and Polk were all charged with two counts of aggravated discharge of a machine gun or gun equipped with a silencer, two counts of possession of a machine gun and 11 counts of aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon.
“These individuals engaged in horrifically dangerous behavior in a residential area, resulting in dozens of rounds of bullets being fired in an apartment complex, striking other buildings and vehicles,” Cannon said.
“These defendants illegals possessed and openly fired automatic weapons while in an apartment complex. They then fled inside an apartment unit and hid,” Cannon said.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed petitions to detain all three men pending trial, arguing they pose a danger to the community.
Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted the petitions to detain during separate detention hearings.
Burnett and Polk are scheduled to appear in court again on May 13 for a case management conference while Gardet is scheduled to appear in court again on May 28.