Current:Home > MyProsecutors drop felony charges against Iowa man who had guns, ammunition in Chicago hotel room -ProfitLogic
Prosecutors drop felony charges against Iowa man who had guns, ammunition in Chicago hotel room
View
Date:2025-04-15 10:32:46
CHICAGO (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped all felony charges against an Iowa man who was arrested in 2021 by Chicago police for having guns and ammunition in his hotel room overlooking a popular tourist attraction.
Cook County prosecutors dropped the felony charges against Keegan Casteel on Monday after he pleaded guilty to reckless conduct, a misdemeanor, and was ordered to pay a $500 fine.
The Ankeny, Iowa, man had faced two felony counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, but no evidence was ever produced in court files that Casteel had anything nefarious planned, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Casteel was arrested on July 4, 2021, when a housekeeper found the guns and ammunition in his room at the W Hotel. The weapons — a rifle with a laser sight, a handgun and ammunition — were found on the sill of a 12th-floor window that had a view of Ohio Street Beach and Navy Pier, a major tourist attraction along Lake Michigan.
Police video showed he told officers he “didn’t mean to startle anyone” and simply forgot to remove the firearms from a bag while packing for a trip to the city.
Then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the city’s then-police superintendent both suggested after his arrest that Casteel, visiting with his family from Iowa, may have intended to fire on Navy Pier crowds.
Casteel said he had packed the guns and ammunition by mistake when he packed quickly the night before making the trip with his girlfriend and his two children and decided to keep the items in his room. He said he had traveled to Chicago to propose to his girlfriend on the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier.
Among the items police seized during a search of the hotel room was a diamond ring. And Casteel, then 32, proposed to his girlfriend immediately after being released from the Cook County Jail.
His attorney, Jonathan Brayman, told the Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday that Casteel was questioned by a joint terrorism task force, which eventually cleared him and issued a report saying it had determined he did not pose a threat.
“I think he was very unfairly portrayed by the mayor and police in the media,” Brayman said of Casteel.
He said his client, an auto mechanic, was “happy to be putting the case behind him” and “wanted to move forward with his life.”
veryGood! (5547)
Related
- Sam Taylor
- 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' 2024 cast: See the full cast headlined by Donald Glover, Maya Erskine
- How Prince Harry and King Charles' Relationship Can Heal Amid Cancer Treatment
- A man extradited from Scotland continues to claim he’s not the person charged in 2 Utah rape cases
- Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
- Mariah Carey returning to Las Vegas for Celebration of Mimi shows: All the details
- What is Apple Vision Pro? Price, what to know about headset on its release date
- Edmonton Oilers' win streak ends at 16 games after loss to Vegas Golden Knights
- Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
- A man extradited from Scotland continues to claim he’s not the person charged in 2 Utah rape cases
Ranking
- The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
- NBA trade deadline tracker: Everything to know on latest trades, deals as deadline looms
- Border deal's prospects in doubt amid Republican opposition ahead of Senate vote
- Why AP called the Nevada GOP primary for ‘None of these candidates’
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- Adult dancers in Washington state want a strippers’ bill of rights. Here’s how it could help them.
- Georgia House panel passes amended budget with new road spending, cash for bonuses already paid
- Ex-'Mandalorian' star Gina Carano sues Lucasfilm, Disney for wrongful termination
Recommendation
What to watch: O Jolie night
North Carolina court upholds life without parole for man who killed officers when a juvenile
House to vote on GOP's new standalone Israel aid bill
Mariah Carey returning to Las Vegas for Celebration of Mimi shows: All the details
North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
Senate deal on border security and Ukraine aid faces defeat as Republicans are ready to block bill
Deadly decade-long listeria outbreak linked to cojita and queso fresco from a California business
Jon Stewart returning to 'The Daily Show': Release date, time, where to watch on TV and streaming