North Chicago man gets prison for gun possession
A North Chicago man was sentenced to three years in prison after he admitted having a shotgun in his possession in spite of his felony convictions.
Ivan Garcia, 24, will have the opportunity to earn his release if he successfully completes the prison boot camp program.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Ken LaRue said a Waukegan police officer on patrol on the 1000 block of 8th Street reported hearing gunshots around 11 p.m. on Sept. 18.
A short time after the officer made his original report, LaRue said, Garcia ran past the squad car with a shotgun in his hand.
The officer arrested Garcia and discovered that Garcia had been convicted of aggravated battery in 2008 and 2010, making him ineligible to posses any firearm.
An investigation that night turned up shotgun pellets in the siding of two residences in the 1000 block of 8th Street, LaRue said, but police could not positively link them to Garcia’s weapon.
Garcia pleaded guilty to aggravated unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and could have been sentenced to up to seven years in prison if convicted.