Police Find Semi-Automatic Weapon Near Car

Wiktor Matug, 61, of Palatine was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, a Class 4 felony, and possession of a firearm without a Firearm Owner's Identification Card, after an incident at a store in the 8800 block of Dempster on Friday, Feb. 24.

Police responded to a caller who reported a suspicious man and woman in the store and said that the woman wanted an ambulance, according to the police report. When police arrived, they found Matug and a 40-year-old woman, who told them she is not stable enough to shop alone and had asked Matug for assistance, police said.

Niles Fire Department personnel attended to the woman, and police asked Matug for identification. He said it was outside in his car. The officer went with Matug to his vehicle in the parking lot, where the officer saw the vehicle door open and a leather bag on the ground, police said. Matug said his ID was in the bag, according to the report, and agreed to let the officer look inside it for the ID. When the officer looked in the bag, police said, he found a chrome semi-automatic handgun, with no magazine or ammunition. Matug, who does not have a FOID card, said he had found it in a wall of a home he was doing construction on, according to the report. The gun will be sent to a crime lab. Matug's court date is April 11 at the Skokie branch of the Cook County courts.

Man charged in residential burglary

Police named Kevin Purpura, 31, of Arlington Heights as a suspect in a residential burglary in the 8800 block of Washington Street, Niles, on Jan. 13. Police took him into custody on Feb. 23 just before 3 p.m. He was charged with residential burglary, a Class 1 felony.  His court date is March 7 in Skokie.

Information is taken from reports.

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