Chicago police handed out a series of charges after arriving at the scene of a shoot for a rap video in a commercial Airbnb unit and finding over 20 illegal guns.
The shoot, which the police discovered after neighbors called in to complain about noise, was taking place in the 1200 block of North Milwaukee Avenue, home to a small shopping plaza, on the night of Saturday, Feb. 1.
Overnight, #ChicagoPolice crashed a gang-related party in 1200 Blk of N. Milwaukee Ave & seized over 20 illegal guns. 5 people of interest have been detained & are being questioned by detectives. Trace investigation into guns to see if they are linked to other crimes is underway pic.twitter.com/vok8FO7HZ7
— Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) February 1, 2020
After arriving at the scene at around 2 a.m., police found nearly 200 people in the unit. More than two dozen were armed, Newsweek reports. The Chicago police found the video shoot to be in violation of city capacity regulations and started issuing orders to clear the space.
“Officers formulated a plan and made entry into the building where individuals streamed out of the building, pushing and fighting police, discarding weapons as they fled,” the Chicago Police Department said in a press release about the incident. “A systematic search of the building yielded a total of 24 handguns and one semi-automatic, short barrel rifle.”
While none of the people present at the scene were arrested in relation to the weapons, four were handed charges for fighting back officers and resisting arrest.
Three of the suspects, James Holmes, 25, Martrell Williams, 22, and Alexander Raeland, 41, were charged with felony aggravated battery to a police officer, while Lamont Clay, 27, was charged with felony resisting/obstructing an officer. One of the men charged is reported to have shoved an officer into a colleague before getting subdued by a stun gun.
Martrell Williams, Alexander Raeland, Lamont Clay, James Holmes | Chicago Police Department
Three of the suspects were released on personal recognizance bonds with electronic monitoring while Holmes is being held on $5,000 bail, electronic monitoring and $425 bail from a past conviction. All four men will appear in court in the coming weeks. A fifth person was taken into custody but released without charges.
Airbnb called the incident at its property “unacceptable” and said that the listing for the Airbnb has been removed.
“We’re thankful to [the Chicago police] for getting illegal weapons off the street,” spokesman Ben Breit said in a statement to the Chicago Tribune.
