UPDATE: Homeless Man Arrested After Alleging He Had an AK-47 at Jewel-Osco

A homeless man, estimated to be in in his late 30s or early 40s, has been charged with disorderly conduct after he told employees at the Jewel-Osco, 507 E. Woodlawn Ave. in La Grange Park, that he had an AK-47 machine gun on April 12.  No gun was found, according to police reports.  

Jeffrey T. Tucker was charged and released on bond after the incident. His last known address was in La Grange Park about 10 years ago, said La Grange Park police Cmdr. Ed Rompa.

Police were called at about 12:18 p.m. that day for a man possibly carrying an AK-47. La Grange and Brookfield police provided backup.

A Jewel-Osco employee said a man was in the front of the store by a checkout counter, was yelling and talking loudly.  The employee said the man came up to him, said he had an AK-47 and he should watch himself.  The employee became alarmed and walked away, and was asked by Tucker where he was going. The employee went into a back room and called 9-1-1.

A cashier said Tucker came into the store more than once that day and she could tell something was wrong with him. He said he had a gun and said, “the Russians were coming.” He also said they needed to get guns in the store, according to police.

When police arrived, an officer said Tucker started walking to the west door and was about 30 feet away when he turned around for an unknown reason.  He then spotted the officer and called for him to come over to him. The officer said he did, pointed a shotgun at Tucker and told him to lie on the ground. He was handcuffed and was repeating the phrase ‘AK-47,” police said.

The store manager told police Tucker is not welcome back in the store. At the police station, Tucker used abusive language and was personally insulting to an officer while being read his rights, police said.

He faces a 1:30 p.m. May 11 court appearance in the 4th Municipal District courthouse in Maywood.