Crime & Safety

Wednesday Blotter: Man Charged, Admitted to Owning 2 Bags of Pot

Woman gives police a whiff in trying to vent car of marijuana smell after being pulled over.

Attempted break-in at home

On March 22, police responded to a call from a man about a break-in attempt at his home in the 800 block of East Oakton Street. Police found pry marks on the front door. 

DUI, drug possession arrest

Find out what's happening in Des Plaineswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

On March 18, police pulled over Nancy Mai, 29, of the 1100 block of E. Palatine Road in Palatine, after she was observed driving erratically. As police approached the vehicle, they observed her open all of the windows and sunroof, (yea, that'll hide the smell for sure, wink, wink) according to reports. Police said Mai was shaking, had glassy red eyes and the vehicle had a strong odor of cannabis. Police later discovered the driver was in possession of cannabis and two pipes for smoking cannabis, according to reports.

After Mai was given a field sobriety test, police charged her with driving under the influence, having an improper license plate cover display and improper lane usage. She was also charged with possession of cannabis and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia.

Find out what's happening in Des Plaineswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

5 charged with underage drinking

On March 19, police charged five men after they responded to a disturbance call in a parking lot in the 1300 block of Fargo Avenue. When police arrived, they observed several men in a verbal altercation. Police learned the dispute arose when some of the men accused the others of stealing a bottle of Grey Goose vodka from them. However, the people involved were all younger than 21 and all admitted to consuming alcohol that day, according to police reports.

Jesse Avalos, 19, of the 1500 block of East Algonquin Road; Dennis Bolanos, 19, of the 2100 block of South Chestnut Street; Oscar Ceja, 19, of the 1600 block of East Stockton Avenue; Gustavo Garcia, 19, of the 2100 block of Chestnut Street; and Sanchez Humberto, 18, of the 2100 block of Ash Street, were all charged consumption of alcohol by a minor. Bolanos was also charged with possession of cannabis.

Liquor license suspended

On March 18, police drove to Mada Lounge, formerly MGM Billiards, at 647 Wolf Rd. to deliver a letter from the city stating that the business and liquor licenses had been suspended. The business promptly closed.

(Patch spoke with an employee of the Mada Lounge today. The bar is expected to reopen this evening, the worker said.) 

2 charged with possession of cannabis

On March 19, police charged two car occupants with a drug possession count each after the vehicle was stopped. Police initially observing four passengers in the back seat sitting on top of one another and not wearing seatbelts, according to reports.

When police stopped the vehicle, they detected the strong smell of cannabis. The front seat passenger, Jason Star, 31, of the 600 block of North Sixth Street in Mount Prospect, admitted to smoking cannabis earlier in the vehicle, according to reports.

After searching the vehicle, police found a half-smoked joint and two bags of cannabis in the driver's side door. At first , no one claimed ownership of the bags of marijuana until Stephen Lee, 25, of the 500 block of Eastman Court in Northfield, did on his own volition, according to reports.

Star and Lee were charged with possession of cannabis.

Retail theft

On March 19, police responded to a reported theft at a business in the 1100 block of South Lee Street. A man entered the store wearing a black plastic bag over his head and removed a bottle of vodka valued at $12.62, from a display shelf near the entrance. The offender then fled with a store employee in pursuit, yelling for him to stop. The offender dropped the bottle in the street and kept running without one of his shoes, a size 11.5 black leather Sketcher footwear.

Construction gear stolen

This incident occurred in February but reports were not available until today

On Feb. 25, a theft was reported at a construction site at 2980 S. River Rd. A Caterpillar 420D Backhoe Loader, valued at $56,000, was stolen as well as an air compressor, rotary hammer and a pneumatic drill, according to the police report. The estimated loss was $67, 500 for the items.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.