Des Plaines Man Charged with Gun Felonies

A 29-year-old man has been charged with reckless discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon after he allegedly fired a handgun into the air multiple times in unincorporated Des Plaines, Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart announced Wednesday July 26, 2023.

At approximately 10:29 p.m. on July 24, Sheriff’s Police responded to a call of shots fired in the 8800 block of Dee Road.

Upon arrival, investigators found six shell casings in the middle of the street and five additional shell casings nearby. No injuries or damage of property were reported.

Security video footage showed the now offender, Eric Chavez, of the 8800 block of Dee Road, and another individual, exit a vehicle and walk to the area where the shots were fired and the shell casings were found.

The officers traced the vehicle to a residence on the same block, where they encountered Chavez outside the residence with a handgun in his right hand.

Chavez ignored verbal commands to drop the gun and attempted to flee on foot but was arrested and taken into custody.

After further investigation, Chavez admitted to owning the handgun, firing shots into the air, and running away from officers. The handgun retrieved from Chavez matched the make and caliber of the 11 shell casings found at the scene of the incident. Chavez did not possess a valid FOID card or a concealed and carry license.

On Tuesday, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved felony charges for one count of reckless discharge of a firearm and one count of unlawful use of a weapon.

Chavez appeared for a bond hearing today at the Skokie Courthouse where a judge ordered him held on a $50,000 D-bond.

The public is reminded that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty by the government in a court of law.

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Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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