Man who took loaded gun to McHenry hospital gets prison after he was accused of being drunk in court

A Chicago man who was accused of bringing a loaded gun into the emergency room of a McHenry hospital pleaded guilty Thursday to possession of a firearm with a revoked Firearm Owner’s Identification card.

Christian Reyes, 28, was sentenced to three years in prison, of which he is required to serve 50%. When released, he will serve six months mandatory supervised release, Judge Tiffany Davis said. He is to receive credit for 53 days held in the county jail, she said.

In exchange for his guilty plea, additional charges were dismissed including aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful possession of ammunition without the requisite FOID card, according to the indictment filed in the McHenry County court.

An additional charge filed Tuesday for direct criminal contempt of court also was dismissed. That charge resulted from Reyes allegedly coming to court Tuesday, when he initially was scheduled to enter into the negotiated plea, but “smelled strongly of the odor of alcohol, admitted to consuming alcohol, and had a BAC of .319,” according to the court order remanding him to the county jail.

On Aug. 23, 2023, Reyes brought a loaded Davis Industries Model P-32 automatic caliber pistol and 39 rounds of ammunition into the emergency room at Northwestern McHenry Medicine. The loaded pistol and ammunition were found inside his backpack and the weapon was “uncased, loaded and immediately accessible,” court documents said.

Reyes was a patient at the hospital when his backpack was searched by hospital security and the gun was discovered, McHenry police said at the time of his arrest.