Loaded Gun Leads To Felony Charge For Evanston Teen

EVANSTON, IL — An Evanston man was arrested Tuesday and charged with a firearm felony after police pulled over a vehicle he was riding in, smelled marijuana and found a gun. One of the passengers took off running as soon as the gun was found. He was caught after a short chase near the intersection of Grey Avenue and Howard Street and arrested shortly after 5:30 p.m.

Devonte Moret, 19, of the 200 block of Richmond Avenue, Evanston, was charged with felony aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, misdemeanor marijuana possession and possession of a firearm and ammunition without a firearm owner's identification card, police said.

Police said an officer from the traffic unit was keeping an eye on the intersection of Dobson Street and Grey Avenue Tuesday afternoon because police had been getting complaints about drivers running the stop sign.

The officer noticed a silver Hyundai fail to stop properly at the sign and pulled over the vehicle, which was driven by an 18-year-old Skokie woman. She was later ticketed for running a stop sign.

Police said they smelled marijuana while speaking to her and her passengers, so they "investigated the odor" and found 11.5 grams of cannabis and a loaded 9 mm semi-automatic handgun inside the car.

Moret took off running when the gun was found, according to police. He later admitted to being in possession of the gun and police said it was also determined that he also was in possession of the marijuana.

Prosecutors approved a single felony count, aggravated by the fact that Moret was allegedly in possession of a gun illegally while under the age of 21.

Moret was released on electronic monitoring after posting $1,000 as a cash bond. His next court date is April 16.