Man Angry Over Soda Tax Allegedly Pulls Gun

Nahshon Shelton didn’t want to pay the 22-cent tax on his $1.79 two-liter of Pepsi on Saturday afternoon, Chicago police said.

So he allegedly pulled a blue-steel Intratec .22-caliber semi-automatic handgun out of his Gucci satchel inside the convenience store in the 4000 block of West Madison Street where they tried to make him pay it -- and he threatened to kill everyone there, a prosecutor said.

This "is my neighborhood, I’m tax exempt!" he would later allegedly tell the cops, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. “Man, you know what, I’ll keep it real. I had to put them in their place.”

Shelton, 36, of the 4200 block of West Carroll, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and having an invalid Firearms Owner's Identification card.

Cook County Judge Peggy Chiampas ordered Shelton held without bail Sunday for the incident that allegedly took place around 1:45 p.m. a day earlier.

Assistant State’s Attorney Claire Savaglio said police saw Shelton yelling at the victims when they answered a report of a man with a gun there.

"I’m going to shoot you in the head three times," Shelton allegedly told one person.

"I’m going to smoke your ass," he allegedly told another.

Savaglio said the whole thing was caught on video surveillance. She said Shelton’s gun had eight live rounds in one magazine, five live rounds in another and one in the chamber.

(Editor's note: A previous version of this article referred to the weapon as a submachine gun. The copy has been amended to more accurately describe the type of gun Shelton allegedly used.)