Loaded AK-47 Rifle Found On Parolee At CTA Platform: Cops

CHICAGO, IL — A West Garfield Park man on parole was arrested over the weekend after officers found him with a loaded AK-47 at a North Side CTA platform, according to Chicago police. Jordan Watkins, 29, of the 4600 block of West Adams Street, was charged with felony unlawful use of a weapon by a parolee and felony armed habitual criminal issuance of warrant. He was ordered held on $150,000 bail Sunday.

According to police, officers responded to a call of a person with a gun at around 6:23 a.m. Saturday, July 29, at the CTA platform in the 900 block of Belmont Avenue in the Lake View neighborhood. Prosecutors said Watkins was discovered on the platform concealing the assault rifle under the gray hooded sweatshirt he was wearing and was carrying two magazine clips for the weapon in a bag, the Chicago Tribune reports. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Lake View and Chicago — or other neighborhoods. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

In 2013, Watkins was sentenced to six years in an armed robbery case. He was released on parole in August of 2016. Prosectuors asked that the source of his bail to be monitored because they claim he belongs to the Traveling Vice Lord street gang, the Tribune reports.

Octora Adams, Watkins' mother, told the Tribune that her son has suffered from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia since he was a boy. She said he most likely was carrying the weapon for self-defense because he allegedly had been shot in the back and arm June 17 near Chicago and Ridgeway avenues, the report added.

More via the Chicago Tribune

Jordan Watkins, 29 (Photo via the Chicago Police Department)

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