- Credibility:
CHICAGO — A man found with guns in a “suspicious position” in a hotel window along the lakefront had his bond set at $10,000 Tuesday, reports say.
Keegan Casteel, 32, of Iowa, was found with a rifle and another gun inside of a W Hotel room Sunday in the 600 block of North Lake Shore Drive, police said. He’s been charged with two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. Casteel does not have a Firearm Owners Identification Card.
The hotel room overlooks Ohio Street Beach and Navy Pier, where many people were relaxing over the long holiday weekend.
At a bond hearing Tuesday, prosecutors said the gun and five rifle magazines were found in “a very suspicious position” on a windowsill in the hotel room, according to CBS. If he posts his bond, he’ll be released from jail during his court case.
Casteel was arrested “without incident,” police said.
At an unrelated news conference Tuesday, Supt. David Brown said a hotel worker found the guns in the room and the situation is “very concerning.”
Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she was “not happy” the man was given a $10,000 bond and thanked the hotel worker for notifying the authorities.
“Unfortunately, because he was charged with mere possession … the charges weren’t of the type that he could have been held,” Lightfoot said at another news conference.
The man was questioned by the Joint Terrorism Task Forces and is “on the radar screen of the FBI,” Lightfoot said.
“We have to make sure this individual is somebody who is known to law enforcement” in Chicago and Iowa, Lightfoot said, adding that she’s traveled to other states but, “I didn’t think to take an arsenal with me. … What he had was weapons of war.”
Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods.
Already subscribe? Click here to support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation.
