A north suburban parolee is facing drug and weapons charges after officers found marijuana and a gun in a vehicle during a traffic stop Tuesday afternoon in Evanston.
A patrol officer stopped the vehicle in the 400 block of Dewey Avenue in Evanston because the driver wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and failed to use a turn signal, according to a statement from Evanston police.
The officer smelled marijuana inside the vehicle, and a subsequent search turned up a 9mm Tanfoglio handgun that was hidden under the front seat, police said.
The driver, 25-year-old Marquise C. Duerr-Starling, was arrested, and a clear plastic baggie containing 3.1 grams of marijuana was found on his person, police said. He was on parole at the time of his arrest.
Duerr-Starling, of the 800 block of Florence Avenue in Evanston, is charged with one felony count of being an armed habitual criminal and two felony counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, police said.
He is also charged with two misdemeanor counts of possession of a weapon or ammunition without a valid FOID card, one misdemeanor count of unlawful use of a weapon and a misdemeanor count of marijuana possession, according to police. He was also issued two traffic citations.
A 9mm Tanfoglio handgun was found during the traffic stop. | Evanston police
