advertisement

Motorist finds rifle of Lake County Sheriff's sergeant in street

A sergeant with the Lake County Sheriff's office is under internal review after a rifle fell off the trunk of his car and was found on a Volo street Sunday by a motorist.

Whether the AR15 .223-caliber rifle was loaded or how long it was in the street before being found is part of the investigation, Undersheriff Raymond J. Rose said Tuesday.

“We received a report that one of our long rifles or long guns had been found and the McHenry city police had it,” Rose said.

The sergeant, who is not being identified, was not on duty at the time, Rose said.

“He was off duty taking equipment out of his squad car and putting it in his personal car,” Rose said. The sergeant had to make a trip and forgot he had put the gun on the trunk, he added.

Sheriff's police received a call about 3 p.m. Sunday from McHenry police saying they had the gun, Rose said.

A motorist found the gun in the middle of the intersection at Bedford Lane and Galena Drive, a residential area on the east side of the village.

“As it turns out, the gentleman that found it was familiar with weapons and knew what to do. He did the right thing with it,” Rose said.

McHenry police did not respond for comment.

Rose said details about what happened are part of the review. The sergeant remains on duty pending the outcome of the investigation, he added.

“We are in the process of doing an administrative review,” he said. “Certainly, this is a very serious situation.” He added that further details were being withheld “until we're able to determine completely what happened.”

@dhmickzawislak

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.