Man Charged With Trying To Smuggle Gun Into Cook County Jail
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Kalamazoo man was being held on $30,000 bond Saturday, after authorities said he tried to smuggle a gun into the Cook County Jail.
The bond for Jaetuan Poplar, 25, was set on Friday by Cook County Judge Susana Ortiz, according to the Cook County Sheriff's office. Poplar was charged with the class X felony of possessing a firearm in a penal institution.
Around 1 p.m. Christmas Eve Tuesday, Poplar was being processed into the Cook County Jail when he was escorted by officers to a body scanning machine. The scan revealed a small, loaded .22-caliber revolver hidden in the groin area of Poplar's pants, the Sheriff's office said.
The revolver was about five inches long, the Sheriff's office said.
Poplar had initially been arrested on Monday by Berwyn police, on charges that included unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
On Tuesday morning, Poplar was transferred to sheriff's custody at the Maybrook Courthouse in Maywood for his bond hearing, prosecutors said. Protocol for such a transfer requires physical searching and use of a metal detector, the Sheriff's office noted.
A judge granted Poplar bond at the hearing, but he was taken to Cook County Jail because he had a warrant related to a robbery case in Michigan.
The question of where the gun came from remained unresolved late Saturday afternoon. It was also unclear how long Poplar had the gun before scanners caught it.
"While we are relieved the firearm was retrieved without incident, investigators are thoroughly reviewing what took place to help prevent such a situation from occurring in the future," said Joseph Ryan, a spokesman for the Cook County Sheriff's Office.
The Sheriff's office said such smuggling incidents are exceedingly rare. More than 30,000 people are being booked into the jail per year, and the last time a gun was found in relation to anyone being booked was 2017, the Sheriff's office said.
