A man was found with a loaded machine gun in the parking lot of the police department in Zion after officers spotted him and knew he was wanted, prosecutors said.
Geovanni Rodriguez, 19, of Lake Bluff, was charged with machine gun possession and four counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Dino Katris said detectives with the Zion Police Department spoke with Rodriguez’s girlfriend on August 9.
Detectives asked the woman to come to the police department to collect belongings, at which time they served a DNA sample warrant on her.
Katris said other officers saw Rodriguez in the woman’s car in the parking lot and knew he had a warrant for his arrest.
That case stems from Rodriguez allegedly participating in a gun sale transaction where the gun involved was later linked to a homicide that occurred on January 10 in Zion, Katris said.
Officers were speaking with Rodriguez when he grabbed a bag near his feet.
Katris said Rodriguez refused to let go of the bag and officers broke the window after he was uncooperative.
Officers found the bag had a Glock handgun with an extended 30-round magazine that was loaded, Katris said.
It was modified with an auto sear or “switch,” which renders the gun fully automatic.
Other items with Rodriguez’s identity were found in the bag, Katris said.
Katris said Rodriguez had just ended court supervision the month prior for a 2023 juvenile case where he illegally possessed a gun.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Rodriguez pending trial in his latest case involving the machine gun possession.
Lake County Judge Bolling Haxall granted the petition and remanded Rodriguez to the Lake County Jail during a detention hearing late last month.
“There’s no reason to possess this other than to cause harm to as many people as possible as quickly as possible. That’s the whole point of a machine gun,” the judge said.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
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