Police Arrest Felon with Loaded Gun After Chase, Fight

An Evanston convicted felon was arrested after running from police and then fighting the officers who chased him early Sunday morning.

Jamir Johnson, 21, was a passenger in a car that police pulled over around 1:30 a.m. Sunday near Ashland Avenue and Dobson Street, according to police. The officers saw that he had a handgun and tried to take him into custody, but he ran away.

He ran to the fence line along the CTA tracks in the 1400 block of Brummel and fought with officers, who were able to take him into custody, police said. The two arresting officers suffered minor bruising and cuts as a result of the fight.

Johnson had a loaded 9mm handgun in his possession when he was arrested, police said.

“The Evanston Police Department strictly enforces individuals illegally possessing firearms as a part of a violence reduction strategy,” the department said in a press release.

Johnson, of the 2200 block of Madison St. in Evanston, was charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a convicted felon and aggravated battery to a peace officer, both felonies, and possession of a firearm without a valid FOID card and resisting a peace officer, which are misdemeanors. He has a July 8 court date.

He is currently on parole for convictions from 2012 for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and a felon in possession of a weapon, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections website. He was paroled on those charges May 3. He also has a previous conviction for burglary from 2010.

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