A man is facing felony charges for allegedly shooting at an Uber Eats driver in the Loop early Tuesday. No injuries were reported during the incident.
Two food delivery runners working together were preparing to pick up an order near Financial Place and Ida B. Wells when Gregory Keller, 46, approached them around 12:35 a.m., according to police and prosecutors.
Keller began yelling obscenities and slurs at the alleged victims, who had never seen Keller before, Assistant State’s Attorney Loukas Kalliantasis said. The workers returned to their Ford Escape and drove away.
They then made a U-turn, and an argument broke out between them and Keller when they returned to Financial Place and Ida B. Wells, according to Kalliantasis. That’s when Keller, wearing a distinctive jacket, allegedly pulled out a gun and fired two shots toward the victims. Kalliantasis said the bullets did not strike the victims or their car.
Police searched the area for suspects and found Keller wearing a jacket like the one described by the victims on the LaSalle Blue Line platform, according to the allegations. He had a loaded handgun in his jacket pocket, Kalliantasis said.
A CPD surveillance camera captured footage of Keller firing at the Ford Escape, and the victims identified Keller as the gunman, according to Kalliantasis.
He said Keller’s felony convictions include a 2008 false report, a 2002 possession of a controlled substance, unlawful use of a weapon by a felon in 2000, and two armed robberies and home invasion in 1991. Court records show he was found not guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm by Judge William Hooks in September 2016.
Prosecutors charged him with reckless discharge of a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon in connection with the Loop incident.
Assistant Public Defender Suzin Farber pointed out that Keller’s violent crime convicts are 31 years old and reminded Judge Kelly McCarthy that the victims made a U-turn and returned to the scene after their first encounter with Keller.
McCarthy granted the state’s request to hold Keller without bail.
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