Aurora man found guilty of weapons charges

A west suburban gang member who led police on a foot chase and was eventually caught with a loaded gun in September 2015 was found guilty Wednesday of weapons charges.

London Gray, 30, of the 700 block of North Randall Road in Aurora, was convicted after a bench trial Wednesday of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, unlawful possession of a firearm by a street gang member, and unlawful possession of a defaced firearm, all felonies, according to the Kane County state’s attorney’s office. He waived his right to a jury trial.

About 11 p.m. on Sept. 4, 2015, Gray was in the back seat of a black 2012 Dodge Avenger, sitting next to 27-year-old Michael Morales, when Aurora police attempted to curb the vehicle for a traffic violation near Hill Avenue and Ohio Street, prosecutors said.

Gray and Morales jumped out of the back seat and ran away, prosecutors said. Morales was apprehended after he fell to the ground and a loaded .38 caliber revolver fell from his hand. Gray was captured two blocks away and officers found a loaded 9mm handgun behind a trash can in the area between the traffic stop and his arrest.

At the time, Gray had already been convicted in 2005 of felony home invasion, police said. He and Morales were known members of a gang.

Morales, of the 400 block of Liberty Street in Aurora, was sentenced in January 2016 to 15 years in prison, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, unlawful possession of a firearm by a street gang member and an unrelated charge of unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon, all felonies.

Gray, who has been held at the Kane County Jail on a $125,000 bond since his arrest, was scheduled for sentencing Dec. 8.