Mundelein Felon Accused Of Having Guns, Yelling At 'Intruders'

MUNDELEIN, IL — Members of the Lake County Sheriff's Warrants Team and Patrol Division carried out an emergency firearms restraining order and search warrant at a home in the 26300 block of North Diamond Lake Road in unincorporated Mundelein Monday, where deputies found and took a 12-gauge shotgun, an SKS rifle and a semiautomatic pistol belonging to a convicted felon, according to a news release from the sheriff's office. The man who lives at the home, 48-year-old George Silva, had the firearms despite his FOID card being revoked, according to the sheriff's office.

Lake County sheriff's deputies were called to the home Sunday when someone wanted to report their neighbor's "increasingly concerning" behavior, and claimed that on several recent occasions Silva walked around his yard during the evening with a flashlight, while yelling at intruders, according to the release.

According to the neighbors there were no intruders, therefore Silva was yelling at "nobody." However, during one of the occasions, Silva was armed with a semiautomatic firearm, and asked a neighbor to help him search for the “intruder,” according to the sheriff's office. The neighbors became very concerned because Silva was acting irrationally and had a firearm, the release said.

Silva was arrested following Monday evening's search warrant, the sheriff's office said. The Lake County State’s Attorney’s office approved three counts of felony unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon against Silva.

“Our Patrol Division quickly recognized this individual posed a substantial risk to the community," Sheriff John Idleburg said, in the release. "Given the circumstances, deputies moved swiftly to petition the Court for an emergency firearms restraining order and search warrant, and when executed resulted in three illegally possessed firearms being seized. This is a textbook case of the importance of the new red flag laws in Illinois.”

Silva appeared in court Tuesday morning where a Lake County judge released him on a $50,00o Recognizance Bond, the sheriff's office said.

He's next court date is scheduled for Dec. 18 in Lake County.

Patch will update this piece as new information becomes available.