Man Charged in Connection With Shooting of Federal Agents in Chicago
CHICAGO — A criminal complaint filed today in federal court accuses a man of forcibly assaulting two federal agents and a task force officer in Chicago yesterday morning.
EUGENE MCLAURIN, 28, of Chicago, is charged with one count of using a dangerous and deadly weapon to assault a special agent from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The charge is punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
McLaurin is scheduled to make an initial appearance in federal court today at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Heather K. McShain. The hearing will be conducted telephonically.
The complaint was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kristen deTineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of ATF; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by the Illinois State Police. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Pozolo and Jared Jodrey.
According to the complaint, two ATF agents and an ATF Task Force officer were driving in an unmarked law enforcement vehicle early Wednesday morning while participating in a federal investigation on the South Side of Chicago. The officers noticed that a white Chevrolet Malibu sedan was following their vehicle, and they took note of the license plate number, the complaint states. The driver of the Malibu pulled alongside the officers’ vehicle, and the officers observed the driver’s side window roll down, the complaint states. A man later identified as McLaurin began shooting at the officers’ vehicle, wounding all three officers, the complaint states.
After the shooting, law enforcement located the Malibu parked on a street in Chicago, the complaint states. McLaurin was taken into law enforcement custody later Wednesday morning.
The investigation into the shooting remains ongoing.
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. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
