A massive stockpile of illegal arms and drugs were seized from a convicted felon's home in Chicago Lawn, authorities said Monday. The Cook County Sheriff's Office detailed the bust, occurring after Bertell Johnson, 30, out on Electronic Monitoring for a murder charge, boasted on social media brandishing weapons, one being an assault rifle and another, a handgun modified to fully automatic, as reported by the Cook County Sheriff's Office.
The January 19 operation led by Sheriff’s Electronic Monitoring investigators turned up not just the weaponry, which included a handgun with a defaced serial number but also a high-capacity drum magazine various ammo types, hard drugs and a stack of cash, the cache painted a troubling picture of what can transpire when someone with a violent history skirts the system; Sheriff Thomas J. Dart voiced his objection regarding violent offenders on electronic monitoring saying, "This was an unacceptable risk to the safety of the community, and perfectly illustrates why I have for years argued that individuals charged with violent crimes should not be placed on electronic monitoring."
Johnson, previously convicted on gun and drug charges, faced a string of additional felonies at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on Jan. 20, among them, weapons and drug felonies, as detailed by the Cook County Sheriff's spokesperson. Secured away at the Cook County Jail, the suspect now confronts four counts of Unlawful Use of a Weapon by a Felon, one count of Unlawful Use of a Weapon/Machine Gun/Automatic Weapon, along with drug manufacturing and delivery charges for cannabis and oxycodone.
Authorities revealed the seized narcotics to include around 16 grams of suspected cocaine, close to 300 grams of suspect cannabis, and 78 suspected oxycodone pills, this rundown of illicit items simply underscores a growing concern over the effectiveness of electronic monitoring to restrain the actions of dangerous individuals within the community; the Sheriff's Office emphasized that though charged, Johnson remains innocent until proven guilty as per protocol. Despite the gravity of these claims, the judicial system maintains the presumption of innocence, a reminder stark against the backdrop of recovered contraband and weaponry.
