Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- Park Forest police say that Cook County Felony Review approved felony a charge against a Glenwood man who allegedly told them he purchased a gun in Gary, Indiana and fired it in Park Forest.
Antonio M.C. Adams Jr., 22, 727 E. Glenwood-Lansing Rd. #1A, Glenwood, was arrested on December 5 and charged with felony aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. Mr. Adams was also issued a local ordinance citation charging possession of cannabis.
An officer was patrolling in the area of Arcadia Street at 8:30 PM after a report of shots fired in the area. The officer noticed a black Dodge Dakota pickup truck traveling westbound on Arcadia Street. The vehicle parked in the 200 block of Arcadia Street. The officer passed the Dodge and noticed a man, later identified as Antonio M.C. Adams, sitting in the driver’s seat.
Mr. Adams rolled down his window and looked at the officer, according to police.
The officer drove around the block and parked a couple of hundred feet behind the Dodge. The officer observed the Dodge Drive with no lights on Arcadia Street change parking spots a few times, according to police.
The officer left the area at that time.
At 8:59 PM, the officer returned to the area of Arcadia Street and brought another officer with him in his squad car.
The officer driving noticed that Mr. Adams was still in the driver’s seat of the Dodge with another man in the front passenger seat, according to police.
The officer pulled up behind the Dodge.
Mr. Adams and the passenger exited the Dodge and Mr. Adams walked towards the officer, removing his ID from his wallet as he did so, according to police. The passenger walked towards the front door of a residence.
Both officers exited the squad and one of them asked Mr. Adams if he lived in the area, advising him that he saw him earlier driving the vehicle with no lights on, according to police. Mr. Adams held his ID in his hand which he handed to the officer after the officer asked for it, according to police.
Both officers “immediately smelled the distinct odor of burnt cannabis emanating” from Mr. Adams, according to police.
One of the officers asked Mr. Adams how much weed he and his passenger were smoking and Mr. Adams allegedly answered that they smoked one single blunt, according to police.
An officer had SouthCom Dispatch conduct a LEADS inquiry of Mr. Adams and learned that Mr. Adams did not have a valid medical cannabis license, according to police.
One of the officers checked Mr. Adams’s person for cannabis and located four plastic baggies containing a green plantlike material that later tested positive for cannabis, according to police.
Two other officers arrived on the scene to assist.
The first officer to see Mr. Adams walked to the Dodge and saw a blunt in the middle console through the closed front passenger window, according to police. The blunt was later found to contain cannabis, according to police.
Through the back passenger window, that officer saw a black handgun on the floor with the barrel facing down, the gun’s handle in the upright position, easily accessible to the driver, according to police.
One of the officers asked Mr. Adams if the gun in the Dodge was a paintball gun. Mr. Adams allegedly replied, saying, “It’s a .22 handgun registered to me,” according to police.
Another officer asked Mr. Adams if he had a FOID and Mr. Adams reportedly stated that he did not, according to police.
Officers later confirmed this through LEADS, according to police.
Mr. Adams also told police that the Dodge was his vehicle which police confirmed.
Mr. Adams handed the keys to the Dodge to one of the officers who then retrieve the firearm which was a Mossberg International 715P semi-automatic sporting pistol, .22 caliber, according to police. The firearm was loaded with the magazine containing 16 .22 caliber rounds of ammunition, according to police.
Police took Mr. Adams into custody and transported him to the Park Forest Police Department on suspicion of unlawful use of weapons, according to police.
Mr. Adams later allegedly told police that he had purchased the Mossberg handgun from a store in Gary, Indiana and that on this date, at approximately 9 AM, he received a call from the store advising him that he was able to pick up the handgun, according to police. He did so a couple of hours later, according to police.
Mr. Adams later brought the handgun to a residence on Apache Street and was showing it to his friends, according to police. Approximately one hour prior to being arrested, Mr. Adams and his friends walked to the field near Allegheny and Apache Streets where Mr. Adams allegedly fired the handgun into the field, according to police.
Mr. Adams allegedly told police that he fired the handgun into the field about six times and then left the handgun at his friend’s residence on Apache and went to a plasma center in Ford Heights to donate some blood, according to police.
Approximately one hour later, Mr. Adams allegedly returned to his friend’s residence and picked up the handgun and then went to the 200 block of Arcadia Street where he was approached by the officers, according to police.
Mr. Adams did not have a valid FOID or and Indiana conceal carry license, according to police.
eNews Park Forest has always published addresses of those arrested and will continue to do so. 5 ILCS 140/2.15 states that the governmental body (for these reports, the Police Department), shall release information on those who have been charged, including their name, age, and address. This information is necessary to ensure the proper identity of those arrested.
An arrest does not mean that a person is guilty. All those arrested are presumed innocent until proven guilty. It is the policy of eNews Park Forest to not remove items in the public record from publication. If your name is listed in the police reports, we will only add information relevant to the final disposition of the case at hand, e.g. “Mr. Smith was subsequently acquitted,” “Mr. Smith entered a guilty plea,” or “All charges against Mr. Smith were subsequently dropped.” We will do so upon receiving and verifying proof of such disposition.
Persons wishing to leave anonymous information on any criminal matters including narcotics or gang activity are encouraged to call the Park Forest Police Department Investigations Division at (708) 748-1309.