2 Guns Found, 3 Arrested In Window Tint Traffic Stop In Evanston

EVANSTON, IL — Two loaded guns and drug paraphernalia was found in a car pulled over for an illegally tinted window last week in Evanston, police said. Three teens were criminally charged following the traffic stop and one received a citation for a violation of a local ordinance. Two other passengers were released without charges or tickets.

At 5:30 p.m. on April 9, a traffic officer stationed at Dempster Street and Dodge Avenue noticed a gray Nissan headed southbound on Dodge with windows that appeared to violate state regulations on tinting and pulled over the vehicle, police said. Using a light transmittance meter, the officer determined the tinting violated state law, which requires at least 35% of light to pass through car windows.

During the traffic stop, the officer said he smelled marijuana, according to Cmdr. Ryan Glew. Additional officers were called to the scene, and all six people in the car were asked to step out for a search of the car.

Police found two guns, ammunition in the glove compartment, 2.4 grams of Xanax in a purse, a small amount of cannabis and various bags and scales of the sort often used by drug dealers, according to Glew.

Officers took all six people to the station. A pair of passengers admitted having the guns in their possession. One had been found under the passenger seat and the other was in the purse with the Xanax, according to police. Another passenger was ticketed for possession of cannabis, and the Nissan was towed from the scene, according to Glew.

The car's driver, Carlos Gonzalez, 19, of the 4100 block of North Ozark Avenue, Norridge, was charged with misdemeanor possession of ammunition without a firearm owner's identification card for the rounds in the glove compartment. Police also issued him a traffic ticket for an illegal window tint.

Emily Correa, 18, of the 6100 block of North Claremont Avenue, Chicago, was charged with three felonies — aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number for the loaded Taurus 380 found in her purse and possession of controlled substance for the Xanax officers said they found alongside it — as well as two misdemeanor counts of unlicensed possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Correa was released on a recognizance bond with electronic monitoring, according to Evanston police.

Malik Jackson, 19, of the 2000 block of Dodge Avenue, Evanston, was charged with two counts of felony aggravated unlawful use of a weapon after admitting he had possession of the loaded and unlicensed Taurus 9mm handgun found underneath the passenger seat. He was also charged with two misdemeanor counts of possession of a firearm and ammunition without a firearm owner's identification card.

Jackson was also held on a violation of supervision in a case from last year, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Office. Last July, he was involved in multiple incidents with Evanston police, including one in which he was charged with battery and resisting police after jumping onto the back of an officer trying to wrestle a handgun away from a 20-year-old man on his block, according to Glew. He was convicted of battery and received time served in that case.

A judge ordered Jackson released on a recognizance bond with electronic monitoring. He was set to be released Monday if he has a qualifying place to stay according to the sheriff's office. Both Jackson and Correa are next due in court on May 2.