Chicago Man Faces Charges In Bus Disturbance
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 33-year-old man previously deported from the United States faces felony charges after he allegedly threatened passengers aboard a Milwaukee-to-Chicago Greyhound bus late Friday.
Margarito Vargas-Rosas, who most recently resided in Chicago, is the suspect who told passengers he had a gun and would kill people, Racine County, Wisconsin Sheriff Christopher Schmaling told reporters Saturday.
Police chased the bus overnight after passengers called 9-1-1. The bus came to a stop after its tires were deflated in Lake County, Illinois at I-94 and Route 173.
Vargas-Rosas was taken into custody. He works at a restaurant in Milwaukee and was returning to Chicago, Schmaling said, when he apparently got into an argument with other passengers. The suspect is an illegal immigrant who had been deported to Mexico in 2012, the sheriff said.
The Sheriff's Office is recommending Vargas-Rosas be charged with making terroristic threats, a felony, and disorderly conduct.
The suspect was saying "he was gonna kill us, that he was going to put a bullet in our head," passenger Patrick Todd told CBS 2 after the nearly 40 passengers arrived at Union Station on another vehicle.
Police gave chase over the border into Illinois because the bus driver did not stop, suggesting it may have been a hijacking. Schmaling said the driver didn't know there was any potential danger.
Police put out spike strips to make the Greyhound bus stop. No firearm was recovered.
"Before I know it, there's like 20 police cars in front of us and on the side of the road," passenger Chris Walker says.
Vargas-Rosas is being held without bond.
