Chicago City Wire

Chicago police confiscated 8,854 guns in 2021-- about 24 per day. 

And they arrested 7,134 perpetrators for illegally possessing those guns-- including Samuel R. Garcia, the adult son of Chicago mayoral candidate Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, who at the time lived and was registered to vote at the congressman's home on 25th Street in the Little Village neighborhood.

When U.S. Rep. Garcia talks about his plans to reduce gun violence in Chicago, he doesn't acknowledge the recent arrest of Samuel, now 39, for felony unlawful use of a weapon.

Sam Garcia was arrested on April 3, 2021. | Chicago Police Department

Police records show that on April 3, 2021, officers responded to reports of shots fired and eyewitness reports that people in two vehicles, a black older-model Chevy Tahoe and a black Ford Ranger, were shooting at each other in the 3100 block of West Marquette Road in Marquette Park.

Witnesses told officers that both drivers fled the scene. The vehicles were last seen near Marquette Road and Sacramento Avenue, according to police.

After a brief search, police located a black Tahoe that matched the witness descriptions, at a Mobil gas station about two blocks from where witnesses reported shots.

Officers curbed the Tahoe and conducted a protective patdown of Samuel, the congressman's son. Officers found a fully loaded semi-automatic handgun in the front, right-side of his waistband, according to court records.

From U.S. Rep Garcia's son, police confiscated a Springfield Armory Hellcat 9mm pistol with a live round in the chamber, and a 9mm magazine with an "unknown number of bullets," police records show.

While Samuel Garcia did have a firearm owner identification card, he did not have a concealed carry license, which state law requires for an individual to possess a gun on their person in the public way.

Garcia was arrested and charged with felony aggravated use of a weapon.

As a special condition of Garcia's release on bail, the congressman's son was required to surrender all his firearms to Chicago police, according to court documents.

"No probable cause"

Court records show that Cook County Judge Laura Marie Sullivan dismissed the charges against Samuel Garcia four months later, citing police had "no probable cause" during a Sept. 3, 2021 Zoom hearing.

Sullivan, who drew criticism in 2013, after she dismissed rape and attempted murder charges against repeat criminal Luis Panoja, also citing "no probable cause," didn't provide any further explanation.

Samuel Garcia has had multiple prior run-ins with Chicago police-- so many that Chicago Sun-Times columnist once described him as "a neighborhood menace."

Garcia and a second man were arrested on June 24, 2007, at 4218 W. Ogden, accused of aggravated assault with a gun, knife or other dangerous weapon and criminal damage to property."

According to a police report obtained by the Sun-Times, Samuel Garcia, apparently referring to his street-gang affiliation, “shouted, ‘Two-Six motherf – – – – – -, we’re gonna f – – – you up,’ while holding a hammer."

Two-Six — otherwise known as the Gangster Two Six Nation, is one of the largest Latino organizations on Chicago's South Side. Garcia's family home, in Little Village, is located in Two-Six gang territory.

According to the Sun-Times, Chicago police said "Garcia then threw the steel-headed hammer and his co-defendant tossed an aluminum baseball bat at a car with two off-duty cops inside."

After he was read his rights, court records show Garcia "freely stated" that he was  "glad that car belonged to a cop." 

"I wish I could have f – – – – – it up more,” he said.

In court filings, Samuel Garcia’s lawyers said that he mistakenly thought the off-duty officers in the car were gang members who would “try to kill him in retaliation for his assistance to the Chicago police in apprehending” two gang members who shot a boy to death. 

Garcia's lawyers wrote that Garcia was “identified but not named” by the police as having helped solve the muder.

But a police source with knowledge of the case told Sun-Times that wasn’t true. 

“Samuel Garcia was not instrumental in solving the murder,” the source said.

At a bench trial in 2010, Garcia ended up being convicted of a lesser charge, a Class A misdemeanor, and given probation, court records show. 

He was required to complete 30 days in the Sheriff’s Work Alternative Program within six months. But Garcia only completed 17 days and, as a result, was found to have violated probation in June 2011. He completed his sentence in August 2011.

In another February 2013 case, Garcia tried to crash into the car of an off-duty police officer while flashing gang signs and yelling a racial slur, according to a police report that said he shouted, “F – – – you n – – – a king killa b – – – -.”

Garcia’s lawyer in that case was Brendan Shiller of the law firm Mayer Brown LLP, whose mother, Helen Shiller, served on the Chicago City Council in the 1980s with Garcia’s father.

Shiller maintained in court filings there was evidence from 911 calls that Garcia believed “a civilian was chasing him.”

The case was set to go to trial when Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez’s office offered a plea bargain to Samuel Garcia, whose father was then serving his first term as Cook County commissioner.

Alvarez spokeswoman Sally Daly said prosecutors did not know Samuel Garcia was the son of a county commissioner and that they offered the plea bargain 'with the consent of the victim.'"

In 2015, the Sun-Times reported that Chuy Garcia, then a Cook County commissioner, co-sponsored a measure to issue a $100 million bond deal to the law firm Mayer Brown LLP, which provided legal representation for the younger Garcia for free.