Chicago Heights man sentenced to 10 years for 2023 University Park machine gun offense
A Chicago Heights man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for unlawful use of a weapon one year after he was arrested in connection to a domestic dispute in University Park, the Will County state’s attorney’s office announced Thursday.
When University Park Police responded to reports of a domestic disturbance along Red Oak Lane off of University Parkway in, Gralon Potts, 38, was found with what appeared to be a handgun, the attorney’s office said in a news release.
But officers at the scene noticed one of Potts’ handguns was adjusted with an extended magazine and an attachment known as a switch to allow the gun to shoot faster. These attachments made the gun fully automatic, according to the release.
“Security video showed Potts pointing the weapon at his girlfriend and breaking the doors to her Nissan,” the release states.
Potts told police when they stopped him Aug. 12, 2023, that he and his girlfriend had gotten into a fight, she rammed her car into his car and broke his windows, the release states.
As the officer walked around his vehicle, he saw 8 unspent .40 rounds on the ground behind it, an empty magazine and found a 9 mm Glock with an extended magazine and a switch that
made it a fully automatic weapon, the release states.
The machine gun was loaded with 21 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber, the release states.
