A Chicago man accused of smoking a cannabis cigar on a CTA Red Line platform ended up under arrest and facing felony gun charges after officers allegedly found a loaded handgun in his waistband. But he wasn’t entirely unlucky: In court the next day, he appeared before the county’s most lenient pretrial detention judge, who rejected prosecution efforts to keep him in jail.
Cook County Sheriff’s Police said officers were patrolling the 79th Street Red Line station around 11 p.m. on May 12 when they spotted 48-year-old Joseph Wright smoking what they believed was a cannabis cigar on the platform. That’s a violation of CTA rules.
So, the officers arrested Wright for disorderly conduct, and during a search, they allegedly discovered a loaded firearm tucked into his waistband. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office charged Wright with possession of a firearm by a repeat felony offender, felon in possession of a weapon, and possession of a firearm on public transportation…