Armed, Asleep DUI Driver Says He Has Gun For Self-Defense: Cops

SKOKIE, IL — Police said they found a drunk driver with a loaded gun passed out behind the wheel last weekend in Skokie.

Carlos Hatfield-Goodnight, 27, of the 2700 block of Salem Boulevard, Zion, was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, driving under the influence of alcohol and driving under the influence of alcohol with a breath alcohol concentration of 0.08 or greater, and ticketed for not wearing a seat belt and improper stopping, according to court records.

Around 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning, officers were dispatched to the 9900 block of Lawler Avenue for a report of a male motorist asleep at the wheel, according to police and prosecutors.

Police found Hatfield-Goodnight there, sitting in the driver's seat unconscious with the engine running and his foot on the brake, according to Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Rowland Edwards, who said it took about five to 10 minutes before he was roused from his slumber.

"[Hatfield-Goodnight] woke up, released the brake and struck the bumper of a police vehicle," Assistant State's Attorney Rowland Edwards.

As officers removed him from his car, according to Edwards, they felt a hard object in his possession and found that he was carrying a loaded 9 mm pistol. Hatfield-Goodnight does not have a firearm owners identification card.

Hatfield-Goodnight said he had the gun for self-defense purposes, Edwards said Monday at a bond hearing in Skokie.

An initial breath test indicated Hatfield-Goodnight's breath alcohol concentration was more than twice the legal limit, and he produced a subsequent test at the Skokie Police Department following a 30-minute waiting period that showed his BAC at 0.13, according to the prosecutor.

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A Skokie police spokesperson declined to answer questions about whether a squad car was damaged in the incident or details about how the arresting officer felt a gun in Hatfield-Goodnight's possession.

Edwards said Hatfield-Goodnight has no felony convictions, but it appeared he had been arrested and charged with drug trafficking in Louisville, Kentucky, although it was not clear how that case was resolved.

Assistant Public Defender Jarnail Kanda said that Hatfield Goodnight had strong ties to the community and was employed in a skilled trade.

According to Kanda, Hatfield-Goodnight's mother said unidentified people shot at her son for unknown reasons as he was coming home from a party two weeks ago.

The public defender said Hatfield-Goodnight had no gang affiliation.

Cook County Circuit Associate Judge Timothy Chambers said he was not going to consider the Kentucky arrest, since the charge may have been dropped.

Similarly, the judge said, the fact that Hatfield-Goodnight may have been targeted with gunfire could go either way.

"There are some aggravating and mitigating factors on both sides of the scale," Chambers said, before setting bail. Most dangerous was the allegation of gun possession, he said.

"But also that he had that weapon on him when he was bereft of his senses with alcohol poisoning," Chambers said.

Hatfield-Goodnight posted the $2,500 cash portion of his bail and was released ahead of a scheduled Oct. 13 court date in Skokie.