Ruben Roman, the man accused of firing a handgun and then passing it off to 13-year-old Adam Toledo moments before the boy was fatally shot by Chicago police last year, is being held without bail in Cook County jail after authorities allegedly found ammunition in the home where he was staying on electronic monitoring (EM).
Although Roman is not criminally charged with possessing the 24 rounds of 9-millimeter ammunition that investigators allegedly discovered in a bedroom at his Maywood home, EM participants are prohibited from being in a house with ammo or other prohibited materials.
Now 23, Roman is accused of handing off a handgun to Toledo as police responded to a ShotSpotter gunfire alert in Little Village early on March 29, 2021. Toledo was shot and killed as he turned toward an officer a split second after ditching the firearm behind a wooden fence.
Prosecutors charged Roman with unlawful use of a weapon and child endangerment for the Toledo case. He was already on probation for another felony gun charge at the time.
The Chicago Community Bond Fund, an organization that posts bail for people who cannot afford to pay for their own release, paid a $40,000 bail bond so he could go home on electronic monitoring on April 17, 2021.
Shortly after 9 a.m. on August 9, investigators from the Cook County Sheriff’s Office were “dispatched to conduct a home compliance check” at Roman’s home, according to court records.
Sheriff’s office records show that Roman sat handcuffed on a living room chair as 15 investigators secured the house. In an upstairs bedroom, an investigator found a container of 24 rounds of 9-millimeter ammunition behind a box on the floor, the sheriff’s report said.
Investigators read Roman his Miranda rights and arrested him for allegedly violating the terms of his electronic monitoring agreement. Prosecutors filed a violation of bail bond petition on August 19, and Judge Charles Burns ordered Roman held without bail, according to court records.
Even though Roman is accused of violating his bail conditions, the Chicago Community Bond Fund is not at risk of losing any money it put up for him. A standing order by Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans bars the circuit clerk from collecting “any fees, court costs or penalties from bail bond funds posted by a Charitable Bond Fund without the surety’s voluntary, written consent.”
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