18-Year-Old Charged After 2 Guns Found During Traffic Stop: Cops

EVANSTON, IL — Police found two handguns during a traffic stop and charged an Evanston man with a firearm felony Wednesday evening. An officer from the Evanston Police Department's traffic unit pulled over a vehicle for speeding in the 400 block of Asbury Avenue around 8:11 p.m., police said.

Police said they smelled recently-smoked marijuana inside the vehicle and asked the passenger in the back seat to get out. When he did, police found a loaded Charter Arms .38 caliber revolver in his waistband, according to Evanston Police Cmdr. Joseph Dugan.

After further searching the vehicle, police found a small amount of marijuana in a cigarette box and another gun, an unloaded Kahr .40 caliber handgun in the rear trunk area. All three people in the car were detained and taken to the Evanston Police Department. Detectives are continuing to investigate the ownership of the gun found in the back of the vehicle, according to police.

Mitchell G. Rivera, 18, of the 1900 block of Emerson Street, was the rear passenger, according to police. He was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, a felony, and two counts of possession of a firearm or ammunition without a valid firearm owners identification card, both misdemeanors.

The driver of the vehicle, a 32-year-old Niles man, was issued traffic citations and released. The front seat passenger, a 17-year-old Skokie boy, was released without charges to a parent, Dugan said.

Rivera has a bond hearing scheduled for Thursday.

_{Top photo: Two handguns police said they recovered after a traffic stop Oct. 11, 2017 | Evanston PD}