‘Those rounds have to come down somewhere’: man charged with firing gun into air

A man was charged with recklessly firing a pistol into the air Saturday evening on the East Side of Chicago.

Hector Ledezma, 26, is facing charges of reckless discharge of a firearm and unauthorized use of a weapon, according to Cook County prosecutors.

A judge denied him bail Sunday during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building at 26th Street and California.

Officers were responding to a report of gunfire from the city’s ShotSpotter detectors about 7:45 p.m. when they heard shots fired at a different location, prosecutors said.

That’s when the officers allegedly saw Ledezma standing in the 9600 block of South Ewing Avenue firing a gun into the air, according to prosecutors.

Officers told Ledezma to drop the gun, but he ran away and into a tire store nearby, prosecutors said. Ledezma was found inside with a 9 mm handgun without any rounds.

Police found 15 shell casings where he allegedly fired the rounds outside, prosecutors said. Ledezma did not have a concealed carry license.

Judge John Fitzgerald Lyke Jr. denied bail to Ledezma during a hearing Sunday. The judge explained the danger the man allegedly put himself and others into.

“He runs, thereby putting himself and others in danger,” Judge Lyke said. “Firing into the air … those rounds have to come down somewhere, and too often it hits a bystander.”

Ledezma lives in the South Chicago neighborhood.