A traffic stop of a car in Gurnee Saturday night yielded crack cocaine, a loaded handgun and a missing, possibly endangered person -- all in the company of a man out on parole for homicide, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s office.
Shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday, Deputy Ray Gilbert and Deputy Phil Zinkowich stopped a 1998 Isuzu in the area of Grand Avenue and Brookside in Gurnee, a release from the sheriff’s office said.
The deputies, while speaking with the driver, 48-year-old Samuel R. Alcock, found that his driver’s license was suspended, and he was taken into custody. The passenger, Gordon L. Johnson, 44, who is currently on parole for homicide, was in possession of crack cocaine, the release said.
A check of the vehicle revealed a loaded handgun on the floor, near where Johnson was sitting in the front seat. A woman who'd been reported missing from Fox Lake was also in the vehicle. All three people were transported to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office for further investigation.
Alcock, of the 200 block of West Street in Waukegan, was charged with driving with a suspended license and driving without valid insurance. He was released on a personal recognizance bond.
Johnson, of the 1200 block of Grove Street in North Chicago, was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. His bond was set at $40,000. His next court date is May 8.
Sheriff Mark Curran noted the potential danger of all traffic stops.
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"When you go through the academy you learn there is no such thing as a routine traffic stop," he said. "You never know who you are walking up to or what is in the car."
