Loaded Gun With Extended Magazine Found In Parolee's Car: Police

ALSIP, IL — A loaded gun with an extended magazine and open alcoholic beverages during a traffic stop of a driver that turned out to be a parolee, Alsip police said. Antonio Cruz, 23, of Chicago, was charged with aggravated UUW by a felon, possession of cannabis in a motor vehicle, illegal transportation of alcohol and assorted traffic violations.

Around 7:30 p.m. July 28, police saw a 2007 Mercury Milan speeding through Alsip, according to a news release. Police said Officers followed the car and observed the driver, later identified as Cruz, increasing his speed and driving erratically. Cruz pulled into a parking lot at 116th Street and Central Avenue, where police said he got out of the car and went up to a group gathered in the park lot. Officers could smell marijuana wafting from the open windows and open alcohol in plain view inside the vehicle, police said.

Officers spoke to Cruz and explained to him the multiple traffic violations they alleged he committed. A search of the car turned up cannabis in the center console and a loaded gun in the glove box, police said. Cruz was taken into custody and brought to the Alsip police station. When interviewing Cruz, police said they learned he was currently on parole and is a convicted felon.

Bail for the gun charge was set at $10,000. Cruz is currently being held without bond on a parole hold at Cook County Jail. He was released on parole in March 2020, where he had been serving an eight-year sentence for residential burglary at the Illinois Department of Corrections, according to state records.