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Man In Body Armor Carries Gun, Knife And Ammo Into Daley Center

CHICAGO (STMW) -- A man dressed in body armor, carrying a loaded gun, ammunition and a knife, was arrested when he tried to enter the Daley Center Tuesday morning claiming to be a Chicago cop, authorities said.

About 9 a.m. Tuesday, 32-year-old Lumani Lubemba entered the Daley Center wearing a "blue uniform and black body armor" and "carrying a semi-automatic pistol on his right hip, under a black jacket," a statement from the Cook County Sheriff's office said.

The Daley Center houses civil courtrooms and other government offices for Cook County.

Lubemba identified himself as law enforcement when he walked into the building at 50 W. Washington, according to Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Erin Antonietti.

He was asked to check in on the first floor, Antonietti said, after saying he was a Chicago Police officer but had no work ID.

But deputies soon learned Lubemba, though he works for a security firm, is not authorized to carry a gun, and he was arrested, police said.

Further investigation revealed Lubemba was never employed by the CPD, prosecutors said. He works as an unarmed security guard and had gotten off work earlier in the morning before coming to the Daley Center, Antonietti said.

Along with the gun, a search yielded three fully-loaded magazines of 40-caliber, hollow-point rounds; a 4.5-inch knife, ASP baton, pepper spray and handcuffs, police said.

Lubemba, a Chicagoan who was convicted of a weapons charge in March 2011, now faces charges of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and impersonating a peace officer, police said.

Judge Donald Panarese ordered Lubemba held on a $250,000 bond Wednesday, according to Cook County State's Attorney's office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton. A preliminary hearing was set for March 26 in Branch 98 at 26th and California.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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