'Nervous' Chicago Heights Man Sends Cops on a Foot Chase Over Stash of Weed

When police recently approached a suspected drunken driver, they found a sober man with a fake ID, gun in the trunk, and passenger who sent police on a foot chase over a stash of weed.

got a tip around 10:45 p.m. Feb. 17 that a car was driving erratically on Harlem Avenue near 183rd Street in , running red lights and speeding. They followed the vehicle, which they later found out was being driven by James R. Eubanks, 19, of the 3000 block of Bob-O-Link Road in Flossmoor. 

The driver pulled into a parking lot just south of the CVS pharmacy on that corner. When police approached Eubanks, he said he hadn't been drinking and offered to complete field sobriety tests. During the conversation, the officer noticed that Eubanks' passenger, Marquis D. Eubanks, 20, of the 600 block of Saratoga Drive in Chicago Heights, was acting nervous. 

" … Marquis began to fidget and move around in the front passenger seat of the vehicle," the report said. "Marquis had a black jacket next to him that he would move onto his lap as if he were attempting to hide something."

The cop called for backup and asked James Eubanks to get out of the car to perform field sobriety tests. When another officer asked Marquis Eubanks to exit, he reportedly sprinted off.

The officer chased him into the backyard of a home on Oconto Avenue, where he had to use a Taser to detain him, according to the report. 

"The (officer) asked Marquis why he ran and he advised that he did not want to get arrested with 'weed' again and threw a bag of it while running," the report said. 

Police later found a bag of marijuana containing six smaller bags about 15 feet from where Marquis Eubanks was Tasered, the report said. During a search of the vehicle, police found a loaded Glock 17 9mm pistol that had 14 rounds in it, they said. The gun was in the trunk, wrapped in green hospital scrubs, according to the report.

James Eubanks reportedly denied owning the gun but said the scrubs were his. He was charged with one count of possession of a fictitious identification because he reportedly had an ID that wasn't his. Police were investigating the weapon's origin and no charges had yet been filed as of Wednesday. 

Marquis Eubanks was charged with one count of resisting arrest and one count of possession of marijuana.

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