At 1:30 p.m. on November 15, 2022, Chicago police officers Justin Quaglia and Kyle Kruzel pulled over a car driven by Jarvae Johnson after he allegedly made a right turn without using a turn signal onto 51st Street on the south side of Chicago, Illinois.
The officers asked Johnson for his license and insurance. When Johnson said he had neither, he was ordered to get out of the car.
Johnson refused to get out. Without being asked, and with no officer ordering or indicating that the car was going to be searched, Johnson said, “I do not consent to a search of my vehicle.”
Johnson argued with Quaglia and eventually got out. He was searched, and a small package of marijuana was found in his pocket. Quaglia explained that he “wasn’t worried about it,” and what he wanted was “honesty” from Johnson.
“All this for a simple traffic stop?” Johnson asked.
“This isn’t a simple traffic stop,” Quaglia replied.
The officers then ordered 23-year-old Devin Boyland, who was in the front passenger seat, to get out of the car. Boyland complied without complaint. A third man who was in the back seat also got out.
Quaglia searched the car. In the front of the car, he recovered a large manila envelope, a backpack, clothing, an aluminum can, ill-fitting seat covers, and a blue towel on the passenger seat floorboard. When Quaglia lifted the towel, he saw a polymer nine-millimeter ghost gun. Quaglia donned gloves and confiscated the gun.
Quaglia and Kruzel asked if any of the three men had a firearm owner identification card (FOID) or a concealed carry card, and Johnson said that his FOID card was revoked.
When the officers asked the men, “Who owns it?”, Johnson said that the gun was “an art project, it ain’t got no safety pin,” referring to the firing pin.
Asked if it was non-functional, Johnson said, “Yeah, it’s an art project.”
“Safety pin is missing? You took it out?” one of the officers asked.
Johnson said, “Shit, I don’t know…”
At that point, Boyland was arrested for possession of the firearm. He was indicted on charges of armed habitual criminal based on a prior felony conviction, as well as four other illegal weapons charges.
On January 19, 2024, Boyland went to trial in Cook County Circuit Court. He elected to have Judge Kenneth Wadas decide the case without a jury. The case was tried in one day.
Quaglia testified about the traffic stop and the recovery of the gun. He denied that Johnson had said anything about the gun being an art project or being non-functional. His report of the arrest did not contain the information about Johnson’s statement.
During cross-examination, Quaglia conceded that his testimony was wrong after he was confronted with body camera footage that revealed Johnson’s statement.
Boyland’s defense attorney, Assistant Cook County Public Defender Andrew Wrona, presented records showing that Johnson was the owner of the car. Wrona contended that Boyland did not know the gun was under the towel and that there was insufficient evidence that he had legal possession of the weapon. Wrona noted that the prosecution had not presented any evidence that connected the gun to Boyland, such as DNA testing or fingerprints.
After hearing closing arguments, Judge Wadas said, “How do you get into a car with a gun on the floorboard, right by your feet and not know there’s a gun there? I don’t think you can. The defendant had knowledge that there was a gun there and, in my view, the State met their burden of proof that the defendant did have knowledge of the gun.”
Judge Wadas did not explain how the prosecution had proved that Boyland had control of the gun. He convicted Boyland of all the charges and sentenced him to eight years in prison.
In October 2024, David Holland, an Assistant Illinois Appellate Defender, filed an appeal on behalf of Boyland. He noted that the gun was within reach of Johnson, the driver of the car, and that the prosecution had presented no proof that Boyland knew the gun was under the towel or any evidence that he had ever handled it.
“Boyland was neither the driver nor owner of the car, had no items in the car, the gun was hidden under a towel, his fingerprints were not on the gun, he made no movements indicating control over the gun or the car, and he made no admissions,” Holland argued.
In response, the prosecution agreed that the convictions should be vacated. In October 2024, the prosecution and defense presented an agreed motion to vacate the convictions.
The motion noted that after Holland filed his appeals brief, the prosecution had “reviewed the record in this case, which includes body-worn camera footage, and the State agrees that there was insufficient evidence to convict Boyland of armed habitual criminal (and the lesser included convictions that were based on the same physical act of gun possession).”
The motion said, “The parties agree that the evidence was insufficient to prove that Boyland constructively possessed the gun,” the motion said. “Proximity to contraband is not enough to prove possession of it.”
On October 24, 2024, the First District Illinois Appellate Court granted the agreed motion and vacated the convictions. The prosecution dismissed the case on November 7, 2024. Boyland was released from prison that day.
On March 10, 2026, Boyland was granted a certificate of innocence, and he filed a claim for compensation from the state of Illinois. On May 22, 2026, Boyland, represented by attorney Sean Brown, filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit against the city of Chicago and officers Quaglia and Kruzel seeking compensation for his wrongful conviction.
– Maurice Possley
Posting Date: 06-23-2026
