logo
Convicted felon busted with gun, drugs during Ford Heights traffic stop: sheriff

Convicted felon busted with gun, drugs during Ford Heights traffic stop: sheriff

Yahoo25-05-2025
The Brief
Michael Donner, 49, was arrested by Cook County sheriff's officers following a traffic stop near the 1600 block of South Lincoln Highway in Ford Heights.
Donner was found with a loaded handgun with seven live rounds of ammunition, approximately 32 grams of suspected cocaine, about 223 grams of suspected cannabis, and drug paraphernalia.
Donner is a convicted felon from an attempted murder case in 2001.
FORD HEIGHTS, Ill. - A convicted felon was arrested for possession of a loaded handgun and drugs in Ford Heights on Friday, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Office.
What we know
Michael Donner, 49, was arrested following a traffic stop near the 1600 block of South Lincoln Highway in Ford Heights.
Cook County sheriff's officers found a loaded handgun with seven live rounds of ammunition, 32 grams of suspected cocaine, about 223 grams of suspected cannabis, and drug paraphernalia. Donner did not possess a FOID card or a concealed carry license.
Investigators also learned that Donner was convicted of attempted murder in 2001.
He was taken into custody and charged with aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon with a previous conviction and multiple drug charges.
What's next
He is currently in custody at the Cook County Jail.
The Source
Details for this story were provided by the Cook County Sheriff's Office.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Naperville Police Arrests for July 16-18
Naperville Police Arrests for July 16-18

Chicago Tribune

time4 days ago

  • Chicago Tribune

Naperville Police Arrests for July 16-18

The following items were taken from Naperville police reports and press releases. An arrest does not constitute a finding of guilt: A 58-year-old man from Naperville was arrested on charges of driving too fast for conditions, driving under the influence of alcohol, driving without a license and driving without insurance at 2:50 p.m. July 16 at Raymond Drive and North River Road. A 29-year-old woman from Berwyn was arrested on a warrant and on a charge of obstructing identification at 4:52 p.m. July 17 in the 2500 block of West 75th Street. A 24-year-old man from Downers Grove was arrested on three counts each of theft and burglary at 6:15 p.m. July 17 at the police station, 1350 Aurora Ave. A 32-year-old man from Aurora was arrested on charges of aggravated battery and disorderly conduct at 6:35 p.m. July 17 at the police station, 1350 Aurora Ave. A 27-year-old man from Aurora was arrested on a warrant and on charges of aggravated battery, battery and resisting an officer at 8:39 p.m. July 17 at West Jefferson Avenue and South Whispering Hills Drive. A 21-year-old man from Rolling Meadows was arrested on charges of battery and reckless conduct at 9:07 p.m. July 17 at West Van Buren Avenue and South Main Street. A 20-year-old woman from Mount Prospect was arrested on a charge of attempted obstructing justice/tampering with evidence, resisting an officer, possession, sale or use of fireworks, possession of a firearm/no valid FOID card and transportation or possession of open alcohol by a driver at 9:07 p.m. July 17 at West Van Buren Avenue and South Main Street. A 26-year-old man from Aurora was arrested on two warrants at 6:36 a.m. July 18 at South West Street and Martin Avenue. A 26-year-old man from Crest Hill was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol at 10:11 a.m. July 18 in the 1500 block of Naperville Wheaton Road. A 20-year-old man from Bolingbrook was arrested on charges of speeding, driving on a suspended license and driving without insurance at 1:52 p.m. July 18 at Bauer Road and North Mill Street. A 19-year-old man from Naperville was arrested on a warrant at 2:11 p.m. July 18 at Bauer Road and North Mill Street. A 20-year-old woman from Naperville was arrested on charges of driving too fast for conditions and driving under the influence of alcohol at 6:10 p.m. July 18 in the 700 block of Violet Circle.

Authorities suspend ground search for northern Minnesota man missing for weeks
Authorities suspend ground search for northern Minnesota man missing for weeks

Yahoo

time19-07-2025

  • Yahoo

Authorities suspend ground search for northern Minnesota man missing for weeks

Authorities suspend ground search for northern Minnesota man missing for weeks originally appeared on Bring Me The News. The Cook County Sheriff's Office has suspended a ground search for a 40-year-old northern Minnesota man who's been missing since the beginning of July. Gene Doherty was last seen leaving his mother's home near Silver Bay on July 1. His vehicle, a 2009 Ford Edge, was found on July 11 on Brule Lake Road between Cascade Lake and Little Cascade Lake, part of the Superior National Forest. The sheriff's office says it's suspending the ground search for Doherty due to challenging terrain, limited resources, and a lack of results from search and rescue operations. For the past week, authorities have focused on the 451-acre Cascade Lake, where a detection dog pinpointed Doherty's scent at the public boat landing, with crews using boats and sonar to search the water and shoreline. 'We've had a great search and rescue group,' Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen told WTIP. "They give it everything." The sheriff's office plans to continue searching Cascade Lake every day until July 22. After that, crews will reassess and "maybe try something else," the sheriff told the Grand Marais-based radio station. "We're going to keep it up as long as we can, as long as resources hold out, and as long as we can get people to do it," Eliasen said. The Cook County Sheriff's Office, Cook County Search and Rescue, the U.S. Forest Service, and St. Louis County Search and Rescue have been assisting in the search and rescue effort. Anyone with information should contact the Lake County Sheriff's Office at 218-834-8385, or 911. Note: The details provided in this story are based on law enforcement's latest version of events, and may be subject to change. This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jul 18, 2025, where it first appeared. Solve the daily Crossword

Measure before Gov. JB Pritzker would streamline firearms ID process for low-level gun offenders
Measure before Gov. JB Pritzker would streamline firearms ID process for low-level gun offenders

Chicago Tribune

time14-06-2025

  • Chicago Tribune

Measure before Gov. JB Pritzker would streamline firearms ID process for low-level gun offenders

On the final day of the spring legislative session, the Democrat-led Illinois General Assembly passed a measure intended to make it easier for people who have been arrested for carrying guns illegally to obtain a state firearm permit so they would be allowed to own firearms. The bipartisan bill marked a rare instance in which Democrats and Republicans largely agreed on a measure involving guns. Democrats have been criticized by the GOP for promoting measures that restrict the flow of guns to the point where they negatively affect law-abiding gun owners. But Democrats say this legislation, which awaits Gov. JB Pritzker's signature, encourages the legal ownership of firearms while still emphasizing accountability. 'Getting guns off the streets, yes, absolutely, to me that means stopping the flow of illegal weapons into our streets. That means keeping weapons out of the hands of people who wish to do harm,' said state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Chicago Democrat who supports the bill. 'That doesn't mean preventing people from owning a tool that is used for both personal protection and sport.' The legislation applies to participants in diversion programs that serve as alternatives to prosecution. Cook County's Democratic state's attorney, Eileen O'Neill Burke, pushed legislators to expand the programs to include a more streamlined opportunity for their participants to obtain a firearm owner's identification, or FOID, card — the form required by the Illinois State Police for state residents to be allowed to legally own guns. The legislation would apply to people eligible for placement in the diversion programs and charged with gun crimes designated as Class 4 felonies, offenses that can carry one-to-three-year prison sentences but are the least severe level of felonies. Under the measure, a person charged with those low-level gun felonies would be able to apply for a FOID card once receiving a court order attesting to their completion of a diversion program, enabling the state police to perform a background check as part of the process of granting them the card. Once the felony case is officially dropped, the state police would grant that individual a FOID card if they pass the background check, the measure would allow. As it stands now, state police can't start the process for someone requesting a FOID card until their felony case is dropped, which may not be until well after the applicant completes the diversion program. The legislation is aimed at helping people like Shamyia Phillips, who was arrested in November 2023 on a felony gun charge. When police stopped her in a car that she said had been reported stolen, she had a handgun in her purse that she said she purchased legally in Texas, an open-carry state where she lived for a time. Unaware of Illinois' gun laws, she didn't have a FOID card or concealed carry license. 'It was just to protect me and my daughter,' said Phillips, a 26-year-old single mother. 'I wasn't using it to harm anyone or anything.' Unemployed at the time, Phillips said she entered a diversion program that helped her get a job and led to the charges being dropped. Seeking work in the security field, she plans to apply for a FOID card and concealed carry license. During a visit to the Tribune Editorial Board earlier this month, O'Neill Burke said one factor motivating the legislation was that during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were major delays for people applying for FOID cards through the state police. At the same time a lot of people acquired guns illegally because of fears stoked by a nationwide rise in violent crime. 'So, we were putting people in a catch-22,' said O'Neill Burke, who took office at the end of last year. 'Suddenly we had this large population of otherwise law-abiding people who are now charged with a Class 4 felony.' The solution, she said, is part of her office's balanced approach toward gun prosecutions: Prioritizing gun cases that involve the use of 'switches,' rapid-fire devices that can convert semiautomatic guns to fully automatic use, while at the same time ensuring that others entitled to have firearms are following the law. 'It's two very different approaches to gun crimes because they're treated very differently under the law,' O'Neill Burke said. 'The goal is to get as many people into compliance with the regulation as possible, while at the same time addressing the very real threat that automatic weapons pose.' More than 2.4 million Illinoisans have FOID cards. The state police has 20 employees processing FOID applications while additional employees handle applications for concealed carry licenses, which allow for a gun owner to carry a firearm outdoors. The state police said the same participants in diversion programming who may be eligible for a FOID may also acquire a CCL, though the qualifications are different. The state police said system improvements over the years have brought down processing times for new FOID applications to an average of about 12 days. During the pandemic, staffing ranged between 17 and 28 employees dedicated to FOID card application processing, in addition to temporary contractors, the state police said. In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, the state police processed 190,693 new FOID applications with an average processing time of 83 days, the state police said. The following year, 292,523 new FOID applications were processed. The final amendment of the diversion program legislation passed through the Senate by a 55-0 vote on May 31, the final scheduled day of session. The bill was approved in the House on May 23 by a vote of 97-11. When state Sen. Elgie Sims presented the final amendment on the Senate floor on May 31, he said there was a 'unique set of proponents to the bill.' In addition to the Cook County state's attorney's office, those proponents included the Cook County public defender's office, Illinois State's Attorneys Association, Illinois State Rifle Association and Gun Violence Prevention PAC. Sims, the bill's main Senate sponsor, said in an interview that the legislation is meant to help people caught up in the criminal justice system for nonviolent gun infractions so they don't get arrested again. 'We're trying to make sure that for somebody who might have a firearm in their possession, but they've gone through the process, they've taken the steps to atone for the mistake (so) that they are able to get their FOID card,' the Chicago Democrat said. 'It was to encourage people to be law-abiding gun owners.' Among other supporters of the bill was the Gun Violence Prevention PAC, which works to stem gun violence and illegal gun access. John Schmidt, an executive board member of the group, said there's room for a balanced approach within firearm policies to respect the rights of people wanting to own a gun legally. 'G-PAC works to keep illegal guns out of the hands of unqualified owners. But we have no trouble making common ground to support laws that enable people who successfully complete diversion programs to resume their right like other citizens to own lawful guns,' said Schmidt, a former U.S. associate attorney general. Republican legislators have long accused the Democratic majority of infringing on the Second Amendment right to bear arms through laws such as the 2023 assault weapons ban, which remains under court challenge. In the new gun bill, many GOP lawmakers supported the Democrats' legislative fix around diversion programming and FOID cards. Senate Republican leader John Curran, a former assistant Cook County state's attorney, agreed with Sims' rationale behind it. 'Ultimately, if someone's going to possess a gun again down the road, they should have a FOID in Illinois. It's the law of the land. So, we should encourage that behavior. This bill does,' said Curran, of Downers Grove. State Rep. John Cabello of Machesney Park was one of 11 House members to vote against the new legislation. A Republican who has worked as a police detective, he said he's been supportive of diversion programs but was skeptical of the Democrats' motivation for this legislation. 'What they're doing in Springfield, is they take baby steps to what their final goal is. What is their final goal? Is their final goal to make sure that we can't charge felons with possession of a (gun) any longer?' Cabello said. The legislation would apply to various diversion programs for people arrested on Class 4 felony gun charges, including Cook County prosecutors' first-time weapon offense program. People charged with such crimes are eligible for the diversion program only if they've gotten permission from a judge, with the consent of the state's attorney. O'Neill Burke's office said Cook County had roughly 2,800 Class 4 felony gun cases last year of which defendants in some 1,200 were put in gun diversion programs, most of them in the first-time weapon offense program. The program was initially established by the General Assembly in 2018 as a pilot and limited to defendants under 21, while also being part of a law allowing for penalty enhancements for certain people convicted of repeatedly carrying illegal firearms. But in the last several years, especially with the makeup of the General Assembly becoming more progressive, lawmakers let the penalty enhancement provisions expire, made the diversion program permanent and removed its age restriction. Participation in the program could last from six months to two years, according to the law, and to stay in the program, the defendant must not break any laws or use any guns or other weapons. The law doesn't allow someone in the program if they've been arrested for a felony gun crime that was committed during the commission of a violent offense; if they've been previously convicted or placed on probation or conditional discharge for any violent crime; if they've completed the program in the past; or if they have an existing order of protection issued against them. Cook County Public Defender Sharone R. Mitchell Jr. said the legislation's emphasis on obtaining FOID cards is an acknowledgement by the government that the people who often get in trouble for illegal gun possession are not dangerous criminals. But if they have a blemish on their record like a Class 4 felony, that could hurt their chances to get a job and potentially be deprived of other opportunities. But Mitchell says many people might not acquire FOID cards or CCLs for a host of reasons, including ignorance of the law or a criminal conviction from decades ago preventing them from owning a gun. 'People's baseline need is to keep themselves safe and some individuals have made the decision in our community that carrying a gun is their only path toward that safety,' he said. 'People are making really tough decisions based upon safety.' Mitchell couldn't say whether the new legislation would increase awareness for the public to obtain FOID cards but said his office is hopeful the law helps change how illegal gun possession offenses are treated in the criminal justice system. 'Our hope is that this law is a first step, but that we take a more informed and measured approach to all gun possession cases,' he said.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store