CHICAGO — Chicago Police officers ran down two Latin Kings outside of a liquor store in Ravenswood after they attempted to ditch a loaded handgun on one of the store’s shelves, police said.
Officers had responded July 22 to a complaint about seven or eight apparent gang members intimidating people and “representing” outside of Foster Food & Liquor, 1900 W. Foster Ave.
The officers encountered a group of men there about 11:30 p.m., according to a report of the incident.
Two of those men, later identified as Joe Juarez, 23, and Angel Garcia, 23, broke off after making eye contact with the approaching officers and ducked inside the store, according to the report.
An officer followed the pair inside and watched Juarez walk quickly to the back of the shop and set an object on a shelf, which made a metallic thump as he dropped it down, according to the report.
As both men reversed course and marched back toward the front of the store they were told to wait as an officer went back to the shelf where Juarez had been. That officer found a .40 caliber handgun loaded with 13 bullets, including one in the chamber ready to fire, set on top of the shelf, according to the report.
At that moment both Juarez and Garcia burst out the store’s front doors and took off running north on Wolcott Avenue, police said. Garcia was caught quickly in the alley behind the store.
Juarez was caught slightly north of the store on Wolcott when an officer dragged him down from a fence he was attempting to scale, according to the report.
Both Juarez and Garcia told police they were Latin Kings from the Berwyn/Hoyne area, according to the department.
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