Murder parolee faces machine gun charge

An Addison man on parole on a second-degree murder charge has been charged with possessing a loaded machine gun.

Edgar Martinez, 29, of the 800 block of South Addison Road, is charged with unlawful use of a weapon, armed violence, resisting a peace officer ‒ causing injury, possession with intent to deliver ‒ cannabis and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

DuPage County Judge Leah Bendik ordered him to be detained pretrial Friday.

DuPage prosecutors say that at 11:10 a.m. Thursday, agents with a U.S. Marshals task force were watching his apartment because Martinez had failed to contact his parole officer.

Agents allege they saw him leave with a black backpack and get into an Uber ride. They stopped it; Martinez ran, leaving the backpack, according to the marshals. They found a loaded Glock 17 9mm handgun in the backpack, with a switch that allowed it to be fired in full automatic mode. It had an extended magazine with 24 rounds, according to a news release from the DuPage state’s attorney’s office.

The agents also found 270 grams of cannabis, 55 grams of cannabis flower and 25 grams of cocaine, according to the news release.

An agent sustained injuries to his head and an elbow during the arrest.

Martinez was sentenced to 18 years in prison for a 2015 murder case, in Cook County. He was paroled in August 2023.

A prosecutor’s pretrial detention petition stated Martinez said he carried the gun for protection, fearing that the brothers of the man he killed were after him.

Martinez’s next court appearance is scheduled for July 22.