Teen charged with having gun, marijuana inside car in Evanston

A teen has been charged with having a loaded gun and marijuana inside a car with two other teenagers and two men Sunday evening in north suburban Evanston.

At 5:36 p.m. Sunday, tactical officers spotted a vehicle with five people inside speeding eastbound on Church Street at Dodge Avenue, according to a statement from Evanston police.

The officers conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle in the 1700 block of Ashland Avenue and smelled marijuana coming from inside, police said. The two men in the front and three teens sitting in the back were asked to get out of the vehicle, and a loaded Smith and Wesson 9mm handgun fell from the waistband of the pants of a 17-year-old boy.

Two 21-year-old men, a 16-year-old boy and two 17-year-old boys were all taken to the Evanston police department where it was revealed that the gun had been reported stolen in Chicago, police said. The 21-year-old driver was given traffic citations for reckless driving, failure to signal and screeching tires.

The 21-year-old front seat passenger was released without charges, police said. The 16-year-old backseat passenger and one of the 17-year-old backseat passengers were given a traffic citation for failure to wear a seatbelt.

The other 17-year-old was charged with one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, one count of possession of a stolen firearm, two counts of possession of a firearm/ammunition without a FOID Card and failure to wear a seatbelt, police said. He was taken to the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center.