People v. AM (Chicago, IL)
When a young woman was in Chicago for work, she had her properly licensed firearm with her. However, all too often, Chicago Police are randomly stopping vehicles, stating that there is a traffic violation when no violation exists. It is a way for the police to question drivers. By and large, people are honest. This woman was absolutely honest and polite and said she did have a firearm in the vehicle when the police asked and that she also had a valid concealed carry license. Unfortunately, the Illinois law is so nuanced that it has intricacies that not all people readily have explained to them. To that, this young woman did have a valid concealed carry license for her properly purchased and registered firearm. However, Illinois does not recognize all other concealed carry licenses, so the police charged her with unlawful use of a weapon (UUW).
Thankfully, Purav Bhatt and Anthony Villalobos were retained and in September 2024 had the charges completely dismissed against this young person who was innocent, as Purav Bhatt and Anthony Villalobos were able to work with the prosecutors to explain the misunderstanding of someone who was just trying to follow the law.
