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A Chicago man enraged over traffic tickets allegedly stalked Mayor Lori Lightfoot and fired a gun multiple times near her home, authorities said.
Joseph Igartua, 37, is facing felony counts of stalking and reckless discharge of a firearm after Cook County prosecutors claim he drove his black Nissan truck past Lightfoot’s home 15 times between mid-January and Monday, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Prosecutor James Murphy told a judge Thursday Igartua drove to Lightfoot’s home Saturday while armed with a loaded handgun and a letter he penned to the mayor.
Two Chicago cops, however, stopped Igartua, who was at the mayor’s home to voice his rage over his traffic citations. The officers took the gun and then returned it to Igartua after breaking it down because he has a valid concealed carry license, Murphy said.
A day later, Igartua returned to Lightfoot’s residence, where he drove down an alleyway and parked by her garage beford he was spotted by a police sergeant, the prosecutor said.
Igartua drove past Lightfoot’s home and dropped papers in the street that included a signed letter to the mayor, as well as traffic tickets issued to him and photos of his Nissan truck, authorities said.
Igartua then returned to Lightfoot’s home on Monday. The mayor was alerted to the incidents later that afternoon, leaving her “alarmed and distraught,” Murphy said during the suspect’s bond hearing Thursday.
Cops later spotted Igartua back near Lightfoot’s home Wednesday, Murphy said. He was detained by cops at a gas station after five gunshots were heard nearby.
Ballistic tests confirmed 9mm shell casings picked up by cops near the scene matched Igartua’s gun, Murphy said.
A judge ordered Igartua, who recently became unemployed, to be held without bond Thursday. He was also ordered to turn over his firearms, the Tribune reported.
Lightfoot, who was at her home with her wife and daughter when Igartua allegedly went there Saturday, said her security detail has since been ramped up.
“I don’t need my child being afraid in her house,” Lightfoot told WLS-TV. “It’s bad enough what my wife and I have been enduring these days.”
Lightfoot, who released a statement calling for “collective humanity” after Igartua’s arrest, said she was frightened by her alleged stalker.
“Somebody coming to my house with a loaded weapon? That is scary,” she told WLS-TV. “I’m not gonna sugar coat that. It’s been terrifying.”
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