CHICAGO — A 23-year-old man is facing criminal charges after crashing his car through the fence of the Chicago Harbor Lock, police said Monday.
Police say Jaime Santillan, Jr., of the 6400 block of South Kilpatrick Avenue, drove his car through the fence early Sunday morning and continued to drive toward the locks. He got out of his car and was ordered back in by employees over a public-address system, police said.
Chicago Police SWAT and Marine Unit officers were able to detain him, police said.
Police said early reports from scanner traffic that Santillan had a gun or climbed onto a crane at the lock were incorrect.
Santillan will face one felony charge of criminal damage to property and one misdemeanor count of criminal trespassing, police said.
The Chicago Harbor Lock was constructed as part of the reversing of the Chicago River in the 1930s. It is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
According the Army Corps website, "The Chicago Lock is operated 24/7 due to Coast Guard Homeland Security concerns in downtown Chicago; routine maintenance of city of Chicago vital services (marine police and fireboat); and year-round commercial barge traffic."
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