Paroled murderer arrested on weapons, drug charges

A North Chicago man on parole after serving 20 years in prison for murder was arrested late Saturday on charges he was found with loaded a handgun and crack cocaine during a traffic stop in Gurnee, Lake County Sheriff’s police said Sunday.

Gordon Johnson, 44, of the 1200 block of Grove Street, is being held on $40,000 bond on charges of unlawful possession of a controlled substance and aggravated unlawful use of a firearm, according to sheriff’s police.

Police said Gordon was a passenger in a car pulled over shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday in the area of Grand Avenue and Brookside Drive. During the stop, police said, Johnson was discovered in possession of crack cocaine and a loaded handgun was found on the floor near where he was sitting.

The car’s driver, Samuel R. Alcock, 48, of the 200 block of West Street in Waukegan, was charged with driving on a suspended license and driving without valid insurance.

Also in the vehicle was a female reported missing and possibly endangered out of the Fox Lake area. All three were taken to the sheriff’s office for further investigation, police said.

In a written statement Sunday, Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran praised the work of the arresting deputies and highlighted the potential danger of all traffic stops.

“When you go through the academy, you learn there is no such thing as a routine traffic stop,” he said. “You never know who you are walking up to or what is in the car.”

Johnson was sentenced to 40 years in prison for a 1990 slaying in Lake County, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records. He was paroled in June 2010 after serving a little more than half of the sentence.

Johnson is scheduled to appear in court on the new charges Tuesday.