Facebook Live Video Of Gun Gets Evanston Man 3 Years Prison

SKOKIE, IL — An Evanston man who waved around a handgun during a live online broadcast – whose viewers included the police who arrested him – pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and was sentenced to three years in prison and two years of mandatory court supervision, the Evanston Review reported. Charges of unlawful contact with a street gang member and no valid firearm owner's identification card were dropped in exchange for his Jan. 25 plea.

Stephen A. Adams, 24, of the 1800 block of Grey Avenue, was arrested Dec. 12, 2016 after police monitoring Facebook for criminal activity noticed a Facebook Live post featuring him along and four other people driving around and flashing a handgun.

The video featured a "known Evanston gang member," and detectives from the department's Neighborhood Enforcement Team were tuning in live, police said at the time.

Cops recognized the video was being recorded in an alley in the 800 block of Clark Street and headed there, police said.

Three men ran into a nearby restaurant, but Adams slipped and fell in the snow, dropping a loaded Glock .40-caliber handgun, according to police.

The driver, an Evanston parolee, was also charged with unlawful contact with street gang members, a misdemeanor.