For the second time in a week, the newly formed sheriff’s police patrol of CTA trains has arrested a passenger for illegally carrying a firearm on the Red Line, officials said Friday.
A Chicago man is facing felony gun charges after he was found unlawfully possessing a firearm with a defaced serial number while riding the train.
At approximately 4:50 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7, Cook County Sheriff’s Police officers were patrolling the 69th Street platform when they heard loud music coming from inside a train, officials said. Officers boarded and detained 27-year-old Vincent Jones for using a portable speaker, and all parties disembarked at the 79th Street stop. During a search of Jones and his property, officers found the firearm and learned he did not have a license to own or carry one, according to the sheriff’s office.
Jones is charged with aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number.
Prosecutors asked Judge D’Anthony Thedford to keep Jones in custody the next day, citing the inherent danger of someone carrying a firearm on public transportation, according to court records. He rejected their request and released him pending trial.
The arrest comes as the Cook County Sheriff’s Office recently began patrolling CTA trains following federal pressure to improve rider safety. Officials say the added presence is already producing results.
One week before arresting Jones, another sheriff’s patrol arrested a 40-year-old man who was on federal firearms probation for allegedly carrying a loaded gun on the Red Line.
Sheriff’s police were conducting routine patrols on the 95th Street platform on March 31 when an officer spotted 40-year-old Carl Adams moving between train cars through emergency doors, a violation of CTA rules, according to the sheriff’s office. Officers took Adams into custody for disorderly conduct, and a subsequent search of his backpack turned up a loaded pistol.
Prosecutors charged Adams with being a felon in possession of a weapon, and Judge Dyer granted the state’s detention request in his case.
Court records show Adams was placed on federal probation in August 2025 in connection with a separate gun case. In that matter, he was arrested on February 1, 2020, after Chicago police found him with a loaded pistol in his waistband in the 4500 block of West Jackson Boulevard.
Federal prosecutors detailed a criminal history for Adams spanning two decades: retail theft in 2020; residential burglary and manufacture or delivery of heroin in 2012; soliciting an unlawful business in 2008 and 2005; possession with intent to deliver cocaine and possession of THC in 2006; criminal trespass to a vehicle in 2005; possession of a controlled substance in 2003; and manufacture or delivery of cannabis in 2002.
Adams now faces the real possibility of having his current federal probation converted to a prison sentence, and potentially a new federal gun charge tied to the CTA allegations.
Editor’s note (May 8, 2025): This story originally stated a different judge released Jones following his April 7 arrest. Clerk of Court entries misidentified the judge who made those decisions. The clerk of court entries were corrected after the publication of our original story.
Original reporting you’ll see nowhere else, paid for by our readers. Click here to support our work.
