2 men facing charges after being found with gun, marijuana in Evanston

Two Chicago men are facing multiple charges after a traffic stop Tuesday night in north suburban Evanston uncovered a loaded handgun and marijuana.

Detectives conducted a traffic stop at 7:38 p.m. in the 1200 block of Howard Street after noticing that the passenger in the front seat of a vehicle wasn’t wearing his seat belt, according to Evanston police. When they walked up to the vehicle, detectives smelled marijuana and ordered the four occupants to get out.

When the man sitting in the rear passenger side seat got out of the vehicle, detectives noticed a handgun sticking out of the lower door storage pocket, police said. The four men, who are all from Chicago, were then taken into custody, and a loaded Sig Sauer .22 caliber handgun with the serial number removed was recovered.

After further checking the vehicle, 13 grams of marijuana were recovered from the storage compartment under the front passenger seat, police said. A search of the rear driver’s side also uncovered a prescription pad with loose prescriptions, some of which were filled out to acquire codeine.

The men were then taken to the Evanston police department, police said.

The man who was seated in the rear passenger side seat, 25-year-old Eric L. Wilson, was charged with a felony count of unlawful use of a handgun by a convicted felon on parole, and two misdemeanor counts of possession of firearm/ammunition without FOID card, police said. After alerting the Illinois Department of Corrections, a warrant for Wilson’s arrest was issued due to his parole status.

Cameron Bush, 18, who was seated in the front passenger’s side seat, was charged with a misdemeanor count of unlawful possession of cannabis, police said. He was also cited for failure to wear seat belt.

Both men live in the Chatham neighborhood, police said.

A 26-year-old man who was sitting in the rear driver’s side seat was still in custody Wednesday afternoon due to charges related to the recovered prescriptions, police said. The investigation was ongoing.

The vehicle’s 26-year-old driver was released without being charged, police said.