Traffic stop leads to man’s arrest on drug charges

A man in Illinois was recently taken into custody for allegedly committing a drug crime. His arrest on drug charges took place following a traffic stop. The man is 30 years old.

Police said they stopped the man at around 5:30 p.m. on a Wednesday. During their stop, a police dog was used to inspect the car, and it reportedly alerted police that illegal drugs were present. Authorities then searched the car more thoroughly and allegedly discovered two kilograms of a drug that they believed was cocaine.

The man’s charges include unlawfully possessing a drug, which is a Class 1 felony. He has also been charged with unlawfully possessing a drug and intending to deliver it — a Class X felony. The man is currently being held on a bond of $300,000.

Facing drug charges can understandably be frightening due to the serious nature of such charges, which could lead to time behind bars and subsequently fewer job opportunities if one ends up being convicted. Fortunately, just because someone is charged does not mean he or she is immediately guilty of the crime associated with the charges. Prosecutors have to prove each element of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt before a conviction can be handed down, and this is a burden that is sometimes hard to meet. An attorney can closely study and try to poke holes in the prosecution’s evidence. It may even be possible to get the charges dismissed altogether if the police failed to execute their vehicle search legally, for example.

Source: dailyherald.com, “Rockford man facing drug charges after Elgin traffic stop“, Elena Ferrarin, Oct. 19, 2017