Prosecutors said a three-time convicted felon on parole for armed robbery dropped a gun on a Loop restaurant’s patio while fleeing the scene of a “shots fired” incident in the heart of downtown on Sunday evening. No injuries were reported.
Shaundell Milton, 28, has been on parole for less than three months, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records. Officials are moving to revoke his parole in light of the new allegations.
Chicago police responded to calls of shots fired at State and Randolph streets around 9:46 p.m. after witnesses heard gunfire and saw men chasing each other, according to CPD records.
Cops found shell casings near 25 West Randolph, the north entrance to the Block 37 complex. A witness flagged down officers to report that a man who was running from the area dumped a gun on the patio of The Dearborn restaurant, 145 North Dearborn, prosecutors said.
Milton was discovered hiding in the stairwell of the Block 37 parking garage, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Steven Haamid. As officers approached, Haamid claimed he immediately told them he didn’t have a gun.
Investigators found surveillance video that showed Milton running west on Randolph with a black bag and a gun, Haamid said. The footage also showed him throwing an object “consistent with a handgun” onto the restaurant’s patio, he continued.
Police recovered a Heckler & Koch VP9 9-millimeter handgun from a chair on the patio. Officers who responded to the shots fired call, which was dispatched as Lollapalooza was wrapping up, said the area was teeming with pedestrians.
Haamid said cops found about a pound of suspected cannabis in a backpack next to Milton.
He is charged with Class X armed habitual criminal, felony unlawful use of a weapon by a felon on parole, felony cannabis possession, and misdemeanor trespassing. Prosecutors did not accuse him of firing the gun.
In addition to the 8½-year sentence he received for robbery in 2017, Milton was also sentenced to being a felon in possession of a firearm in 2017. He got three years for that.
Haamid said Milton received 30 months in 2013 for a robbery in which an accomplice hit Milton’s girlfriend in the head with a cement block, and Milton ordered the co-offender to “be sure to get” the woman’s money.
His public defender, Suzin Farber, argued that Milton did not have the gun on his person when police arrested him. She said he lives with his girlfriend and children.
Judge Maryam Ahmad held Milton without bail at the state’s request.