U.S. Attorney’s Office Charges Man With Illegally Possessing Loaded Firearm in Downtown Chicago Federal Courthouse

CHICAGO - The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois has charged a man with illegally possessing a loaded firearm in the Dirksen Federal Building in downtown Chicago.

JAMES C. LAKE, JR. possessed a loaded semiautomatic handgun on Monday morning in the lobby of the Dirksen Building, which is located at 219 S. Dearborn St. in Chicago's downtown Loop neighborhood, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The Dirksen Building houses the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and the offices of various governmental agencies. It is the largest federal courthouse in the United States both by square footage and number of federal judges.

According to the complaint, Lake approached the Court Security Officers around 7:40 a.m. and placed a bookbag containing the gun, a box cutter, and a jackknife onto the magnetometer conveyer belt. Lake informed the officers that he had a gun and "other stuff" in the bag, the complaint states. Officers searched the bag and discovered the gun with a loaded magazine, the box cutter, 23 live rounds of ammunition, and the jackknife inside its sheath. The seized items can be seen in the photo below.

An inspector with the U.S. Marshals Service took Lake into custody and seized the contraband. Lake had previously been convicted of a federal felony and was legally prohibited from possessing a firearm.

The complaint charges Lake, 53, of Chicago, with illegal possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon. Lake made an initial appearance in federal court on Tuesday and was ordered to remain detained in federal custody.

The complaint was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and LaDon Reynolds, United States Marshal for the Northern District of Illinois. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alec Smith.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.