Man's death after 'confrontation' in Lake County forest preserve under investigation
Lake County Forest Preserve police and the Lake County Major Crime Task Force officials are investigating the death of a 45-year-old man in the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve early Saturday morning.
Investigators said two men were involved in a confrontation with the 45-year-old before his death. They were hospitalized from injuries suffered in the confrontation, but authorities said they are cooperating with the investigation.
One of the men is charged with a weapon felony after, task force officials said Sunday, a semi-automatic pistol with no identifiable serial numbers was found in his Highland Park residence.
According to investigators, Highland Park police were called at 5:10 a.m. Saturday to the 0-100 block of Cliff Road after receiving a report of an unconscious man on the shore. Police found the man and determined his death had occurred in the nearby Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve.
Forest preserve police responded and enlisted the countywide task force.
In a news release issued Sunday, task force officials said a preliminary investigation indicated the man who died, a resident of the area, went outside to speak with two men who were making noise on the lakefront at about 1 a.m.
A confrontation erupted between the three, culminating in the resident's death and injuries to the other two men, a 20-year-old and an 18-year-old, police said.
On Saturday, investigators from the task force and the forest preserve police conducted a search warrant at the residence of the 20-year-old, Nicholas M. Caban, of the 3400 block of Dato Avenue.
Investigators located a semi-automatic pistol in Caban's bedroom with no identifiable serial numbers, police said.
The firearm was not used in the confrontation in the forest preserve.
The Lake County state's attorney's office approved the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm without a serial number, a felony.
Caban is scheduled to appear at an initial court hearing Monday morning.
The older man's death remains under investigation. Additional charges are possible after further investigation and the results of the deceased's autopsy.