Suburban Chicago man charged after deputies find stolen gun during traffic stop
Jeoni Cunningham | Cook County Sheriff's Office
A Lansing man is facing a felony gun charge after Cook County sheriff's investigators say a late-night traffic stop in south suburban Midlothian led to the discovery of a loaded gun reported stolen and suspected marijuana inside his vehicle.
Traffic stop leads to arrest
The backstory:
According to the Cook County Sheriff's Office, Organized Crime Division investigators stopped a Cadillac XT5 around 10:40 p.m. July 27 in the 3900 block of 145th Street after noticing the vehicle had expired registration.
During the stop, investigators learned the driver, 24-year-old Jeonni Cunningham of Lansing, had restricted driving privileges that prohibited him from driving at night.
Authorities said Cunningham was asked to step out of the SUV, and investigators spotted a bag of suspected cannabis in the driver's side door panel as he exited the vehicle.
A subsequent search of the Cadillac led investigators to recover the suspected cannabis and a loaded firearm, according to the sheriff's office.
Investigators said Cunningham did not possess a valid Firearm Owner's Identification card or a concealed carry license. They also determined the recovered firearm had been reported stolen from Calhoun County.
Cunningham was arrested and charged with aggravated unlawful possession of a firearm.
He appeared for his first court hearing July 28 at the Markham Courthouse, where a judge ordered him released on the Chief Judge's pretrial electronic monitoring program.
The Source: The information in this report came from the Cook County Sheriff's Office.