Lake and McHenry County Scanner

A 19-year-old who was out on bond for a gun case was arrested after he was found with a loaded gun after driving up to a police seatbelt checkpoint in Waukegan, prosecutors said.

Willie L. Wright Jr., 19, of the 3300 block of Beacon Street in North Chicago, was charged with three counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, possession of tobacco by a minor and two counts of no seatbelt use by a child passenger.

Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Francis DeRosa said Wright drove up to a seatbelt checkpoint with two juveniles in the backseat.

The checkpoint was being conducted by the Waukegan Police Department Tuesday evening.

DeRosa said the two juvenile’s in the car did not have seatbelts on.

The officers asked Wright how old he was after noticing he was vaping.

The officers asked Wright to step out of the car because he said he was 19, which is under the legal age for using tobacco products in Illinois.

DeRosa said officers felt a hard object in Wright’s waistband and found a loaded Glock 45 handgun.

Wright does not have a Firearm Owners Identification card or a concealed carry license, DeRosa said.

He was also out on bond after being charged with illegally possessing a gun in March in Waukegan.

Lake County Judge James Simonian on Wednesday set bond at $45,000 but gave Wright credit for his previous $30,000 already posted in his first case.

Wright was released from the Lake County Jail after posting 10% of his remaining $15,000 bond.

Wright is scheduled to appear in court again on Monday for an arraignment hearing.

Sign up for Lake and McHenry County Scanner's free daily newsletter and get the latest news directly to your inbox every evening.

Thank you for signing up!

© 2022 SJB Business Solutions, Inc. ISSN No. 2769-4283.

No part of this website may be reproduced or stored in any form without written permission from Lake and McHenry County Scanner.

To keep you informed about the latest news across Lake and McHenry counties as it happens.