Police: 16-year-old boy had gun, cannabis in vehicle in Evanston

A 16-year-old boy is facing charges after police caught him with a gun and cannabis in a vehicle Monday night in north suburban Evanston.

The teen was charged with felony counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and defacing the serial number on a firearm, and one misdemeanor count of unlawful possession of cannabis, according to Evanston police. His name was not released because he is a juvenile.

At 7:46 p.m., detectives were in the 1900 block of Emerson Avenue when they saw a vehicle heading east in the wrong lane of traffic, police said.

The detectives pulled the vehicle over in the 1300 block of Emerson and and saw the 16-year-old passenger reach under the seat, police said. They also smelled fresh cannabis coming from the vehicle.

When asked about the odor, the front seat passenger handed the officer a small clear plastic baggie containing cannabis, police said. A second baggie with about 27 grams of cannabis was found underneath the passenger seat.

The detectives also recovered a loaded Colt .380-caliber handgun with the serial number obliterated from inside the boy’s pant leg, police said.

The boy was taken to the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center in Chicago, police said.

The driver, an 18-year-old Des Plaines man, was issued two traffic citations and released, police said. Three other back seat passengers were released without charges.