Lockport Man Arrested After Disturbance Between Gang Members In Riverside: Police

RIVERSIDE, IL — A disturbance at Barrypoint Bridge led to the arrest of three men, including a man from Lockport. Riverside Police received several 911 calls on Wednesday at 1:08 p.m., reporting a disturbance at Fairbank and Barrypoint. One call said there was a possible robbery as witnesses believed the victim was being robbed of his bike; witnesses said the bicycle was thrown into the Des Plaines River.

Police said when they arrived, no one was there but witnesses directed them to the location where the suspects were last seen. Witnesses reported that two suspects jumped into a vehicle and fled westbound on the 200 block of Fairbank. Another suspect, whose bike was thrown into the river, ran toward the 100 block of Fairbank into a wooded area.

According to police, they were able to stop and detain all three suspects, and were told there was a handgun involved which had been thrown into the woods. An extensive search was conducted, and five hours later, police found a fully-loaded handgun in the forest preserve about 200 feet west of Barrypoint Bridge on Fairbank Road.

The three suspects were identified as Alijandro Mosies Mosquenda, 21, of the 1300 block of McCameron Avenue in Lockport; Ruben Fallas Sapaula, 21, of Stickney; and Amir Johnson, 22, of Lyons. Police said they learned all the individuals knew each other and were well-documented and self-admitted gang members. Johnson had the gun on him when he was riding his bike, but he did not have any ammunition or a clip so he went to the parking on the 4200 block of Joliet Avenue in Lyons to purchase them. He started to ride southbound towards Ogden when Mosquenda and Sapaula, who he had a prior dispute with, spotted him. They chased him to the Barrypoint Bridge where the confrontation took place.

Police said during this confrontation, Johnson pulled out his gun, racked the gun so that there was a live round in the firing chamber and threatened to shoot and kill the offenders who threw his bike into the Des Plaines River. According to police, this dispute was from a drug rip-off that took place months prior.

Mosquenda and Sapaula were charged with mob action and reckless conduct. They both posted bond and were released. Johnson was charged with felony aggravated unlawful use of the weapon by a felon.

During the search for the handgun, police said they were assisted by the Lyons Police Department, the Cook
County Department of Homeland Security and three K9s. The K9s used were from the Brookfield Zoo Police Department, Cook County Sheriff's Police and Elmhurst Police Department. The dogs are all specially trained K9s to sniff out firearms. Police said the K9s played a significant role in recovery of the handgun.

"I am very thankful that no one was injured and that we made arrests and recovered the handgun," Chief Of Police Thomas Weitzel said in a release. "My officers were on the scene within 1 minute and 17 seconds of the initial call and I believe that played a vital role in deescalating the situation with the quick police response. I am also very thankful for the assistance of the other police agencies that without their help we would not have been able to recover the loaded handgun.”

Photo provided by Riverside Police Department.