COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A driver for a ride-share company got more than he bargained for Sunday when a West Side passenger whipped out a gun during a traffic stop, tossed it in the front seat and ran off, prosecutors said.
According to court records, police stopped the driver about 7 p.m. Sunday in the 4700 block of West Lake Street after officers spotted a pine-tree-shaped air freshener on the man's rearview mirror "obstructing the driver's view of the roadway."
The car's temporary Indiana license plate was expired, records show.
As officers walked toward the white 2005 Cadillac, passenger Lavell Holloway said, "'I got a gun on me,'" and tossed an unloaded .22-caliber handgun onto the front seat, police and prosecutors said.
Holloway, 18, then tried to run away as the driver shouted to police, "He's got a gun! He's got a gun!" according to an arrest report.
Police soon caught Holloway, who had been riding in the Cadillac as a passenger using a ride-booking service, Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said during a bond hearing this week.
Authorities did not provide the name of the company.
A spokeswoman for Lyft said the company had no record of the driver or the rider. Uber did not respond to a request for comment.
Holloway, currently on juvenile probation for delivery of a controlled substance, now faces two felony counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in a vehicle.
Police recovered a .22-caliber revolver with three empty shell casings inside, Scaduto said.
Assistant Public Defender Patrick Keegan argued in court that the gun, which was found on the driver's seat, belonged to the driver — not Holloway. Keegan said Holloway is slated to begin his senior of high school in September.
Holloway, of the 5200 block of West Washington Boulevard, previously was convicted as a juvenile of possession of a controlled substance.
Cook County Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil set bail at $50,000.
