The driver who crashed into several cars while fleeing Chicago police in River North on Tuesday evening had two guns and more than $26,000 worth of heroin in his car, prosecutors said Friday.
Jaremiah Eason, 27, is charged with Class X armed violence and six other felonies in connection with the incident, which began around 9 p.m. when police allegedly saw him commit a traffic violation.
Eason, the only person in the car, pulled over for a moment but started driving again after police saw him pull something from his waist and toss it onto the passenger floorboard, prosecutor Eugene Goroshko said.
Police chased his Eason as he ran three stop signs and traffic signals, then turned the wrong way onto Ohio from State Street, Goroshko continued. Police said Eason collided with six cars on Ohio Street, then ran from the vehicle. Two people in the other vehicles were injured, CPD said.
Goroshko said police found two handguns on the car’s front floorboards along with 207 baggies of heroin worth $26,200 and a knotted bag of crack worth $738.
In addition to the armed violence count, prosecutors also charged Eason with two counts of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, two counts of heroin possession, one count of cocaine possession, and aggravated fleeing.
He has been convicted of three other felonies, including gun cases in 2014 and 2021 and narcotics in 2015, Goroshko said.
Eason’s defense attorney said he lives with his girlfriend and child. The lawyer said he has taken business management classes at Malcolm X College, attends church, and is active in his community.
Judge Maryam Ahmad ordered Eason to pay a $22,500 deposit toward bail to go home on electronic monitoring.
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