Police Tase Man Accused Of Reaching For Gun In Round Lake Park

By Woo-Sung Shim, the Lake & McHenry County Scanner

A 34-year-old man was tased when he allegedly reached for his gun after police responded to a large fight in Round Lake Park early Sunday morning.

Eloy Leal, 34, of Waukegan, was charged with armed habitual criminal, unlawful possession or use of a weapon by a felon and two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

The Round Lake Park Police Department responded around 3:13 a.m. Sunday to the 100 block of East Washington Street in Round Lake Park for a report of a disturbance in progress behind a business.

Round Lake Park Police Chief Daniel Burch said officers received a report of around 20 people who were fighting and possibly pointing guns at each other.

Officers arrived and allegedly saw Leal placing a gun in the waistband of his pants and concealing it with his shirt. When Leal was approached by officers, he started to reach down toward his waistband, despite being told not to several times, Burch said.

Officers used less-lethal force and stopped Leal from reaching for his gun.

He was arrested and the pistol was recovered from Leal’s waistband.

“In this case, the officer’s quick and decisive actions and use of less-lethal technologies allowed for a quick de-escalation of a potentially violent situation,” Burch said.

Paramedics with the Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District responded to evaluate Leal, who initially declined but later agreed to medical care.

He was transported to Northwestern Medicine Emergency Center Grayslake for evaluation and he was later released.

Leal remains held at the Lake County Jail on a $350,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on July 21 for a preliminary hearing.

Lake and McHenry County Scanner is a local breaking news website covering issues that matter such as shootings, stabbings, house fires, kidnappings, car accidents, and more around Lake County and McHenry County.