Round Lake Park cops say sword, knives, guns found in home

Several knives, a homemade sword and guns have been seized from a Round Lake Park home where gang-related crimes originated, authorities said Wednesday.

Round Lake Park Police Chief George Filenko said an arrest warrant was executed Tuesday night at the house in the 400 block of Highmoor Drive. Warrants were part of a continuing street gang investigation by Round Lake Park authorities and the Department of Homeland Security, Filenko said.

Carolyn Perri, 47, of the 400 block of Highmoor, was charged with unlawful possession of cannabis and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm. Robert G. Ewing, 18, of the 400 block of Clifton Drive in Round Lake Park, was charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm.

Police entered the home after no one answered their knocks on the door. Filenko said Perri was present when the cops entered, but she apparently didn’t hear the knocking because she was using a blow dryer to secure winterizing plastic film over some windows.

Filenko said the most recent gang shooting suspected to have involved some of the Highmoor Drive home’s residents occurred July 9. Police said the Tuesday sweep seized the homemade sword, knives, .22-caliber rifle and 12-gauge shotgun.

In addition, Filenko said, police found marijuana and ammunition in the house. He said two admitted gang members living in the home were questioned but not charged.

As part of the operation, the Highmoor Drive house has been “red-tagged” by Round Lake Park, Filenko said, because it has village code violations and is not considered fit to live in. He said the residents used a range to heat the home, water was coming through a hole in the roof and gang graffiti was on the walls of all rooms.

“It’s just not a safe house to live in,” Filenko said.

Authorities said two suspected gang members from Round Lake Park with extensive arrest records were recently deported by the federal government during the joint investigation.