Man Says Bag He Grabbed at Train Station With Gun Inside Isn't His

An 18-year-old claims that he grabbed the wrong bag at an AmTrak station that had a gun with a defaced serial number, prosecutors said in court on Wednesday.

Osmond McLauren, 18, of Bloomington, IL, appeared before Cook County Judge Peter Felice on aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and defacing a firearm charges.

Prosecutors said that Illinois State Police stopped a vehicle on July 28, when McLauren, who was riding in the backseat of a vehicle on I-55, was spotted not wearing a seatbelt.

Illinois State troopers found a gun inside the bag with the serial number rubbed off, according to the charges.

Prosecutors said that McLauren told the troopers he had ridden the train from Bloomington to Chicago had picked up the wrong bag, which had a gun inside.

The assistant public defender stated that McLauren had purchased an AmTrak ticket from Bloomington to Chicago for July 28, but it was actually for July 29.

McLauren contacted someone in Bloomington for a ride to Chicago. When his ride arrived at the AmTrak station, he picked up the wrong bag, thinking it was his own.

The assistant public defender said that McLauren did not realize he had the wrong bag until he opened it for state troopers and discovered the gun inside.

The judge set bail for $15,000, with ten percent to apply. McLauren is due back in court on August 17.