Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- A Park Forest teen is facing a charge of felony unlawful use of a weapon. Police said they discovered a loaded 9 mm Glock 43 semi-automatic handgun in his coat pocket. The officer who first approached the teens saw a bulge in the pocket and suspected the young man had a weapon.
Police arrested Jaali A. Brown, 18, 352 Winona St., Park Forest, and charged him with felony aggravated unlawful use of a weapon – under 21 years old and resisting. Police also arrested Tyrone J. Farris Jr., 18, 352 Winona St., Park Forest, and charged him with resisting.
Run-up to a Teen Felony Charge
An officer responded to the area behind a home on Warwick Court at 4:07 PM on December 4, 2023. A caller to SouthCom reported seeing five suspicious men in the rear of a home. Police began to check the area for the men. An officer saw two men wearing dark-colored clothing walking northbound from the area. The officer told the men to come to speak with him. The reported men were teens, both 18: Jaali A. Brown and Tyrone J. Farris Jr., according to police.
When the officer got closer to the teens, he noticed there was an object inside of Mr. Brown’s coat pocket. The object was bulging and weighed the pocket down, according to police. Due to how Mr. Brown was handling the object inside his pocket, the officer suspected the object was a handgun, according to police.
Police: Teens Do Not Comply
The officer ordered Mr. Brown to take his hands out of his pockets and place them on his head. Mr. Brown initially complied, according to police. However, according to police, Mr. Brown allegedly put his hands back inside his pockets after the officer ordered him not to do so.
The officer ordered both teens to come and speak with him, but they allegedly did not comply.
Two other officers arrived on the scene to assist.
As the first officer who spoke with the teens got closer to Mr. Brown, he grasped Mr. Brown by the coat and told him to keep his hands on his head, according to police. Mr. Brown allegedly pulled away from this officer and wrapped his arms around Mr. Ferris’s upper body, according to police. When he did so, the officer seized the opportunity to pat down the pocket where he saw the bulge. He felt a hard, blunt object that was consistent with the shape of a handgun, according to police.
The officer told the other officers on the scene that Mr. Brown was armed with a gun, according to police.
Toward the Teen Felony Charge: Police Recover a Gun
This officer brought Mr. Brown down to the ground and placed him in handcuffs, according to police. He recovered a loaded 9 mm Glock 43 semi-automatic handgun from inside Mr. Brown’s coat pocket, according to police. The gun had one round chambered and an additional ten rounds loaded inside the magazine, according to police.
According to the report, the weapon had a valid serial number and had not been reported stolen, according to police.
Police later learned that neither Mr. Brown nor Mr. Ferris possessed Firearm Owner’s Identification Cards or Concealed Carry Licenses, according to police.
The arresting officer contacted the Cook County State’s Attorney Felony Review Unit. He spoke with the Assistant State’s Attorney and apprised him of the case. The ASA approved that police charge the teen with one felony count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon- under 21 years old.
About Police Reports
Please note that we repeatedly say “according to police” in these reports and often use “allegedly.” We are not asserting in any way that those police arrested and charged committed any offenses. We report on what is in the reports that the police furnish to us. As those accused are innocent until proven guilty, the burden is on prosecutors and police to prove all alleged crimes.
eNews Park Forest has continuously published the 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 charged, including their name, age, and address. This information is necessary to ensure the proper identity of those arrested.
Presumption of Innocence
An arrest does not mean that a person is guilty. The law presumes all those whom police arrest are innocent until proven guilty. It is the policy of eNews Park Forest not to remove items from the public record from publication. Suppose you find your name in the police reports. Our policy is that 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.
We do not strike, “unpublish,” or delete news.
Police captured all the incidents in this report on body-worn and dash-mounted cameras by officers at the respective scenes, according to police. All Park Forest police officers wear body-worn cameras. Officials typically abbreviate these devices as BWC in the reports.
We encourage persons wishing to leave anonymous information on any criminal matters, including narcotics or gang activity, to call the Park Forest Police Department Investigations Division at (708) 748-1309.
N.B. We added the date of the incident on February 7, 2024.
