Felon arrested with handgun in Evanston

A convicted felon who was arrested Tuesday night in north suburban Evanston had a loaded handgun in his vehicle, police said.

About 8:20 p.m., tactical unit officers saw a vehicle disregard a red light at Dodge Avenue and Emerson Street, and tried to stop the vehicle, according to a statement from Evanston police.

The driver, 41-year-old Pedro Lebron, continued east and was seen leaning into his passenger compartment, police said.

The vehicle pulled over in the 1400 block of Emerson Street and the driver was acting in a “nervous manner,” police said.

The officers found an open can of beer, a pipe used to smoke drugs, and a loaded Sig Sauer .380 caliber handgun in the passenger area of the vehicle, police said.

Lebron, of the 2000 block of Jackson Avenue in Evanston, was charged with one felony count of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and misdemeanor counts of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of firearm/ammunition without an FOID card, police said.