Man with gun livestreamed his ride through Illinois Walmart — and now rides to prison

A man was sentenced to almost five years in prison after he livestreamed a scooter ride through an Illinois Walmart last year.

A Peoria police officer was monitoring social media on June 30, 2020, when he saw a man — identified as 22-year-old Tariq Lawson — on Facebook Live riding a motorized scooter through Walmart, according to a complaint filed in federal court.

Lawson appeared to have a gun tucked into his waistband, and a minor with Lawson also appeared to have a gun, according to police.

They left the store about the time Walmart staff contacted authorities. During their exit, another minor who was with Lawson went live on Facebook with the caption “we in trouble,” police said.

Authorities arrived at the Walmart parking lot, where they saw Lawson getting into a silver SUV and approached him.

When authorities patted down Lawson, they didn’t find a gun. Authorities got permission to search the SUV and soon found two firearms — that matched those in the video — on top of some groceries behind Lawson’s seat, police said.

Lawson later admitted to having a Smith and Wesson handgun, according to police.

Lawson was charged with illegal possession of a firearm by a felon and pleaded guilty on Wednesday, WMBD reported. He was sentenced to four years and nine months in federal prison.

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