DeKalb man charged with armed violence after police find machine gun during traffic stop

DeKALB – A DeKalb man accused of armed violence after police said they found him with a machine gun and drugs during a traffic stop refuted his criminal charges Wednesday, telling a judge he fell asleep at a traffic light.

Braxton X. Mosley, 26, of the 800 block of Edgebrook Drive in DeKalb, faces 10 charges stemming from a DeKalb police traffic stop Tuesday, according to DeKalb County court records.

Mosley is charged with armed violence, possession of a firearm by a felon, unlawful use of a machine gun weapon, two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, defacing the identification marks of a firearm, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, aggravated resisting a police officer, misdemeanor possession of firearm ammunition without a Firearm Owner’s Identification Card and misdemeanor resisting a police officer.

During a court hearing Wednesday, 23rd Circuit Court Judge Joseph Pedersen set Mosley’s bond at $250,000. Mosley would need to post 10% of that, or $25,000 to be released from jail. The bond amount came at the request of prosecutor Monique Langrehr of the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office.

“These are serious offenses. We have concerns about him attempting to flee from the police as alleged in the case,” Langrehr said.

Mosley denied any wrongdoing and called into question his bond amount.

“Now they’re saying I tried to run from the police when I was trying not to get shot,” Mosley said. “I was [sic] sleep at a light. Why is my bond $25,000? I was literally sleep at a light.”

If convicted of the most serious crime, armed violence, a Class X felony, Mosley faces up to 30 years in prison. He would not be eligible for probation.

Mosley said he wanted to find a new lawyer and expressed his frustration, using profanity at one point.

“That kind of language is not permitted inside my courtroom,” Pedersen said.

Mosley’s defense attorney, Yorkville-based lawyer Andrew Nickel, asked the judge for a $30,000 bond, arguing his client was a father and a caregiver.

Court records show DeKalb police arrived in the 100 block of South Annie Glidden Road on Tuesday for reports of a vehicle stopped on the roadway. When police arrived, they made contact with the driver, later identified as Mosley.

While police searched law enforcement databases for Mosley, they discovered he allegedly was driving on a suspended license, court records show. An officer asked Mosley to exit the vehicle on the driver’s side, and Mosley complied.

When police informed Mosley he was under arrest for a suspended license and placed handcuffs on him, however, Mosley allegedly attempted to flee, according to court records. Police prevented him from fleeing and, during a search of his person, allegedly found a loaded firearm in Mosley’s pants, according to court records.

The firearm had a switch attached to it, making it automatic, police wrote in court documents.

Switches are devices attached to semi-automatic handguns that allow the weapon to fire an entire magazine rapidly. A switch on a gun classifies the weapon as a machine gun under federal law, according to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

A police search of Mosley’s vehicle uncovered drugs including oxycodone acetaminophen, a narcotic pain reliever, and dextroamphetamine-amphetamine, a prescription drug often used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or narcolepsy, court records show.

During a police interview, Mosley reportedly told police he was not prescribed any prescription medication and that he’d found the firearm in Chicago, according to court records.

Mosley reportedly told police he knew the firearm had a switch and a defaced serial number, court records show. Mosley did not have a FOID card on him during the traffic stop.

A DeKalb police officer reportedly suffered cuts to their hand while attempting to prevent Mosley from fleeing, court records show.

At the time of his DeKalb arrest, Mosley had pending charges in Cook County including misdemeanor charges of resisting a police officer and two counts of misdemeanor domestic battery in DeKalb County, Pedersen said. Mosley also was convicted in February 2016 of unlawful use of a weapon in Cook County and sentenced to one year in jail, Pedersen said.

Mosley is ordered to appear for a status hearing on the charges and the state’s request to increase bond in the armed violence case, which will be heard by judge Marcy Buick, at 2:30 p.m. April 5 at the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore.