Merrillville Man Returns To Scene To Find Gun He Ditched
Friday morning at 3:45 a.m., Trooper W. Carlson was on patrol along I-65 in Lake County. Trp. Carlson was parked in the crossover at the 261 mile-marker actively looking for a vehicle that had been involved in an earlier pursuit. He was seated in his patrol car when he observed a vehicle headed southbound approaching his location. Trp. Carlson then heard three gunshots. As Trp. Carlson took cover, he also observed the vehicle, a light colored van, pass his location and continue south. There weren’t any other vehicles traveling in the area at the time. Trp. Carlson then attempted to catch up to the vehicle and observed it weaving in the left lane and increasing speed. The van then crossed over all lanes and exited onto the ramp to westbound I-80/94. A traffic stop was initiated on the vehicle and the vehicle stopped at the 11 mile-marker. As the traffic stop progressed, Trp. Carlson was able to identify the driver as Tevin J. Phillips, 24, from Merrillville, IN. The traffic stop concluded at 5:30 a.m. with Mr. Phillips being issued a traffic citation and released from the scene.
Approximately one hour later, Sgt. A. Jamerson observed a light colored van stopped on the inside shoulder of I-65 near the 261 mile-marker. He further observed a male outside of the vehicle walking in the grass area of the median as though he was looking for something. Sgt. Jamerson approached the subject and after a brief conversation identified the subject as Tevin J. Phillips, the same subject from Trp. Carlson’s earlier traffic stop. It was learned that he was allegedly looking for house keys. Additional units arrived and a search of the grass area was conducted. While searching, troopers located a loaded Glock 9mm handgun with an extended magazine in the grass a few hundred feet from where Trp. Carlson had been sitting in his patrol when he originally heard the gunshots. This was approximately two miles from where the traffic stop had been conducted on Mr. Phillips earlier in the morning. Subsequent investigation lead to a search of Mr. Phillips’ vehicle and the case to the recovered Glock was located in the van. The serial number on the handgun matched the serial number listed on the case. Mr. Phillips was then taken into custody and transported to the Lake County Jail. He is preliminarily charged with the following:
- Criminal Recklessness with a Deadly Weapon- Level 6 Felony
- Obstruction of Justice- Level 6 Felony
- Carrying a Handgun Without a License- Class A Misdemeanor
All persons named in this release are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court. All charges mentioned are merely accusations, actual charges will be determined by the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office.
