Man With Gun Drives Smoking Car To Gas Station, Gets Indicted

BANNOCKBURN, IL — A Milwaukee man was arrested by police last month after driving a smoking car into the parking lot of a gas station and staying at the scene for long enough for officers on the scene to learn that the car was stolen and he had an unlicensed, unloaded pistol in his backpack, police said.

James L. Blackwell, 24, of he 1900 block of West Hampton Avenue in Milwaukee, was indicted Wednesday on one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, according to Lake County court records. Bannockburn police said he was arrested shortly on July 22 at the Bannockburn Green shopping center near the intersection of Half Day and Waukegan.

According to a police report, Blackwell told police he had been offered a ride from Chicago to Arlington Heights by someone he knew only as "Rico". As they drove north on I-94 in a blue 2001 Mustang the interior of the began to smoke, so the pair pulled off onto Half Day Road.

After they pulled over, Blackwell reportedly told police, "Rico" got out of the car and began to just walk away. At that point he drove the smoking car alone to a gas station in the 1300 block of Half Day Road. Staff told him to move the car away from the fuel pumps as they called the police and fire departments.

Personnel from the Deerfield-Bannockburn Fire Protection District and officers from Bannockburn and Riverwoods arrived on scene shortly after 12:46 p.m. to find Blackwell waiting with the Mustang and no visible signs of smoke, according to police.

There was a smell that something had been burning, police said, but firefighters were unable to determine its precise cause. They suspected it was something electrical, according to police.

When officers checked to see if the car had been reported stolen – and if there were any warrants for Blackwell – the Mustang came back clean, according to the report. Blackwell was described as very polite and cooperative. He stuck around after fire department personnel cleared the scene, telling reportedly officers he planned to get a money transfer at a store next door in order to pay for a tow truck.

The Bannockburn officer checked the license plate again in order to clear the call, but this time it had come back stolen, according to his report. The Deerfield and Riverwoods officers headed into the store's bathroom, where they found Blackwell having a phone conversation while sitting down on the toilet.

Police said they quietly listened to Blackwell's cell phone conversation inside a stall and "could only tell he was discussing the car being stolen and that the police were around."

The officers, one armed with a taser, let him know they were aware the car was stolen and intended to place him under arrest for possession of it. Officers cuffed Blackwell as several Deerfield officers arrived to assist, according to the report.

After he was taken to the Deerfield Police Department for processing, police found a .22 semi-automatic handgun, along with two spare magazines in Blackwell's backpack, according to the report. Police said the gun was unloaded and he had no ammunition.

Blackwell told police he purchased the gun in Milwaukee for $450 about 10 days prior to his arrest. The gun was not reported stolen, according to the report. He told police it was loaded when he bought it but he had unloaded it, according to the report, explaining he "needed it since he lived in Chicago."

The report describes Blackwell as having a criminal record involving firearms and assault and a gang affiliation. He told police had been shot 12 times, so the gun was necessary for protection.

Bannockburn police spoke to the Chicago man listed as the owner and informed he he could pick up the stolen car at a towing company lot after Chicago police were reportedly uninterested in examining it for evidence, according to the report.

Blackwell was indicted by a Lake County grand jury on a single count of felony unlawful use of a firearm without a FOID card – a class 4 felony carrying a sentence of up to 3 years in prison on first conviction– after a Lake County prosecutor decided to defer to the Chicago Police Department for any possible charges related to the stolen Mustang.

No records of any charges related to the stolen car were available, including when and from where it was stolen. A Chicago police spokesperson had no information about a stolen vehicle connected to the incident.

Blackwell has been detained at Lake County Jail since his arrest in lieu of providing the $2,500 cash portion of his bail. He is due back in court Aug. 23 for an arraignment on the gun charge.