A 53-year-old Gary man is in the Cook County jail after being charged with firing a gun in an alley in the 2300 block of Foster Street in Evanston.
Police Cmdr. Ryan Glew says a 911 caller last Thursday about 7:20 p.m. told dispatchers a man was standing in the alley brandishing a handgun and then fired off a shot before fleeing the area in a black car with Indiana registration.
Glew says responding Special Operations Group detectives spotted a black Mercedes with Indiana plates a few blocks away at Foster and Darrow Avenue and performed a high risk traffic stop in the 1900 block of Dewey to investigate further.
He says the driver, Edward Davis, 53, of the 200 block of W. 25th St. in Gary, Indiana, was positively identified by a witness as the offender who fired shots in the alley.
Glew says police found a box of .22 caliber ammunition in the Mercedes and that a Phoenix Arms Model HP22A, loaded with .22 caliber ammunition, was found nearby.
A search of the reckless discharge scene, he says, led to the recovery of unfired .22 caliber rounds.
Glew says ammunition recovered from the Mercedes, the handgun, and the original scene all matched in caliber and brand, indicating that Davis used the recovered handgun in the reckless discharge but discarded the gun prior to being stopped by detectives.
During the investigation, Glew says, detectives recovered drag paraphernalia from the Mercedes. Detectives also learned that Edwards had a suspended driver’s license and no proof of insurance.
Davis did not have a FOID card or a Concealed Carry License. The Mercedes was towed from the scene.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office reviewed the case and approved felony charges for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon by a convicted felon and reckless discharge of a firearm.
He’s being held on a $75,000D bond and is due back at the Skokie courthouse at 9 a.m. on June 1.