Evanston police say a car driving through a stop sign near downtown led to the arrest of a passenger on gun charges.

Cmdr. Ryan Glew says an officer on patrol near Lake Street and Maple Avenue about 10:50 a.m. Tuesday saw a white GMC SUV fail to stop for a stop sign.

The officer stopped the car in the 1000 block of Grove Street and learned that the driver had a revoked driver’s license and no proof of insurance.

Glew says the driver was arrested and the passenger, 19-year-old Ptolemy Martinez who lives in the 1000 block of Grove, was asked to step out of the vehicle.

Glew says an officer assisting on the traffic stop found a partially unzipped green bag in the front seat passenger area that contained a loaded Taurus 9mm handgun.

Martinez admitted that the bag was his, Glew says, and that he didn’t have a firearms owner identification card or a concealed carry license.

He’s now been charged with two felony counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and a misdemeanor for possession of a handgun without a FOID card.

He’s been released on a $15,000D bond and is to appear in court in Skokie on June 21.

Bill Smith is the editor and publisher of Evanston Now.

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