Bond set for man who illegally possessed loaded firearm, fled pollce

Bond was set at $50,000 Monday for a Chicago man accused of illegally possessing a fully loaded firearm and fleeing from the police.

James Ruffin, of the of the 5500 block of W. Iowa St., has been charged with one count of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, one count of aggravated fleeing and eluding, one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of misdemeanor DUI, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

On Nov. 22, at about 1:10 a.m., a Hinsdale police officer observed a car stopped ion westbound Ogden Avenue. The officer pulled his vehicle behind the stopped vehicle and approached the stopped car on foot.

The driver, later identified as Ruffin, exited his car, observed the officer approaching him, re-entered his vehicle and drove away. While fleeing, Ruffin crashed his car into a traffic standard at Ogden Avenue and Madison Street and continued driving afterwards, the release stated.

A short time later, a Westmont police officer observed a car matching the description of Ruffin’s car pull into the parking lot of an apartment complex. The Hinsdale police officer originally involved arrived at the scene and Ruffin was arrested.

While searching Ruffin’s vehicle, police found a fully loaded pistol with a 30-round clip. It is further alleged that Ruffin’s blood alcohol content was .256, the release stated.

“It is alleged that Mr. Ruffin, a convicted felon who was illegally in possession of a handgun with an extended magazine, was driving drunk and, when approached by police officers, showed a complete disregard for authority and put the motoring public at risk by fleeing from the police,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “I would like to thank the Hinsdale Police Department for their heads-up work on this case that not only removed an alleged drunk driver from the road, but also allegedly took an extremely dangerous weapon out of the hands of a convicted felon.”

Ruffin’s next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 5 for arraignment.