A Downers Grove man was arrested by Naperville police for allegedly hiding a loaded gun under the car seat his 1-year-old daughter was sitting in, according to a news release by the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office and the Naperville police chief.
Antoine Street, 40, was denied pretrial release Wednesday when he appeared in DuPage County court this morning.
He is charged with one count of aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon concealed in a vehicle – no FOID or CCL, resisting a police officer, endangering the health or life of a child, and unlawful possession of cannabis by a passenger.
Police say loaded gun was under car seat occupied by Street’s daughter
Naperville police say shortly before 10:50 p.m. on Tuesday, they pulled over a car whose owner had active warrants out of Cook County. That person was later identified as Street.
During the traffic stop, Street was sitting in the rear passenger seat, next to a one-year-old girl sitting in a car seat. When officers told Street he was under arrest and asked him to get out of the car, he resisted, at which point officers forced him out of the car.
Police then searched the vehicle. Under the car seat, they allegedly found a 9mm Ruger with one bullet in the chamber. The handle of the gun, they said, was facing where Street had been sitting, and the barrel was facing the driver’s side of the car.
Officers also say that Street was in possession of about 32 grams of cannabis when they arrested him.
‘Inconceivable’ to have loaded gun under occupied car seat, says DuPage state’s attorney
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin commended the Naperville police for their work on the case.
“The very idea that someone would hide a loaded weapon, with one bullet in the chamber, under an occupied child car seat where their infant daughter was sitting is inconceivable,” Berlin said. “Thankfully, officers were able to remove the weapon before tragedy struck.”
Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres also praised his police force for their actions.
“Naperville has some of the most proactive, dedicated police officers a community could ask for,” Arres said. “Arrests like this highlight the fact that our officers aren’t just sitting around waiting for the next 9-1-1 call to come in. They’re out there patrolling, conducting traffic stops, and making this city safer.”
Street is next scheduled to appear in court on March 2.
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