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Police say man shot gun near Lake County forest preserve

A Waukegan man is in custody and charged with shooting a weapon from a moving vehicle near Independence Grove Forest Preserve, authorities said Monday.

Sergio Hurtado-Vega, 31, of the 100 block of Philippa Avenue, is charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon after his arrest about 7:35 p.m. Saturday, authorities said.

If found guilty, he could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison, authorities said.

Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Christopher Covelli said police received a report of shots fired at Winchester and Butterfield roads in Libertyville before 7:30 p.m. Shortly after the first call, police received a report of shots fired on Route 137 near the entrance of the forest preserve, Covelli said.

A 911 caller said they observed the driver of a red Toyota shooting the firearm out the window of the vehicle.

Sheriff's deputies and North Chicago police officers spotted and stopped a vehicle near Green Bay Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in North Chicago, Covelli said. Hurtado-Vega was taken into custody without incident, Covelli said.

Police determined Hurtado-Vega fired a total of eight rounds from a 9 mm pistol while driving around the Libertyville area, Covelli said.

Hurtado-Vega told police he was "listening to music, driving around and shooting a gun," Covelli said.

Hurtado-Vega remains held in the Lake County jail on $250,000 bail. He is due in court Aug. 1.

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