A Zion resident was charged with trespassing at the Lake County Airport Tuesday afternoon due to a series of unusual circumstances.
Lake County Sheriff’s officers were dispatched at approximately 11:55 a.m. on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, to a report of a driver of a Toyota speeding back and forth on a busy runway at Campbell Airport in the unincorporated community of Grayslake.
The driver of the Toyota, later identified as Erik Deanda-Gonzalez, 30, of 3300 Holdridge Avenue in Zion, then parked his car and began entering the airport hangars. When Lake County Sheriff’s officers arrived, they found Deanda-Gonzalez in a plane parked near a tarmac. Airfield employees informed officers that Deanda-Gonzalez was not the owner of the plane and had no business being in it.
Deanda-Gonzalez exited the plane and spoke with the sheriff’s officers, and they all went back to Deanda-Gonzalez’s Toyota. The sheriff’s officers were asking Deanda-Gonzalez questions about his conduct at the airfield when, without warning, Deanda-Gonzalez turned around, ran back to the plane and attempted to crawl back inside. The sheriff’s officers pulled him from the plane and took him into custody.
Deanda-Gonzalez offered no explanation for his actions and was taken to the Lake County Jail. Sheriff’s officials found ammunition in Deanda-Gonzalez’s vehicle before it was towed from the scene. However, a firearm was not found.
After reviewing the facts and circumstances of the incident, the Lake County District Attorney’s Office filed the following charges:
Criminal trespassing on an airport runway (Class 3 felony)
Criminal trespassing at an airport (Class 4 felony)
Resisting a Peace Officer (Class A Misdemeanor)
Unlawful possession of firearm ammunition without a FOID card (Class A misdemeanor)
Criminal trespassing (class B misdemeanor)
All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
— Lake County Sheriff’s Office
On August 21, 2024, Deanda-Gonzalez appeared in court where he was released on conditions. His next court date is September 3, 2024 at 9:00 a.m.
The FAA was informed of the incident.
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