Citation issued for concealed gun at BMW tourney in Lake Forest
A Westmont man arrested on charges of trying to bring a concealed firearm to the BMW Championship at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest is charged with a misdemeanor for now.
However, Lake County State's Attorney Mike Nerheim said additional charges could be filed against Mark T. Fedder, 48, after the incident is investigated further and once more information is available on the meaning of a court review of the state's new concealed carry law.
Fedder, of the 0 to 100 block of North Oakley Drive in Westmont, was arrested Monday morning at the BMW Championship at Conway Farms Golf Club. Lake Forest police said he tried to enter the golf tournament with a concealed firearm. Fedder was stopped by security at the main entrance of the event where the concealed weapon was discovered.
Two additional guns were located in Fedder's car after a trained canine from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms detected a suspicious smell in the vehicle at an off-site parking lot, police said. The remote parking lot for the PGA event and Riverwoods Road in Lake Forest were closed for about two hours Monday morning while the incident was investigated.
Authorities charged Fedder with a misdemeanor count of attempted obstruction of justice. Nerheim said felony charges are a possibility after prosecutors get a handle on the meaning of a recent Illinois Supreme Court ruling that a portion of the state's new gun law is unconstitutional.
Until that portion of the law is worked out, the ruling by the state's highest court puts the brakes on prosecutors attempting to charge people with valid gun licenses caught carrying concealed weapons. Nerheim said he should have additional information about the ruling this week.
He could not say when or if additional charges would be filed.