Street-Level Drug Dealer Makes Rookie Mistake While Transporting His Products

On March 8th, 2024, Officer Carroll was patrolling when he observed a vehicle commit multiple traffic violations on the street in Oak Lawn, Illinois. He then stopped the car, and during the traffic stop, he smelled freshly burned cannabis. Officer Carroll realized the burned cannabis smell was coming from another vehicle parked right next to them at the gas station. He observed the suspect exit the gas station, wave at him, and approach the car that the burnt weed was coming from. Officer Carroll then started questioning the individual about the cannabis smell. He then observed a bag of weed IN PLAIN VIEW on the passenger's seat. The suspect then took off running and was captured a few blocks down with a firearm.

The recovered firearm was loaded with 24 bullets (one chambered), and the serial number came back clear with no record on file. The seized drugs included 201 grams of cannabis, packaged in 13 baggies, consistent with street-level drug dealing. Also, there were 16 bars of Alprazolam pills (Xanax) and 5 grams of Psilocybin mushrooms accompanied by a 200-count box of sandwich bags.

(No body camera footage able to be acquired of the interview)
The suspect was read a Miranda Warning and made the following statement (not verbatim): He stated he had just smoked cannabis in the vehicle and ran from officers because he had a gun on him, and he wanted to "keep it a hundred” with officers. He said his intent was to throw the gun and stated he purchased the gun for $800 because there were no "bodies" on the gun and it was "clean."

The vehicle's driver, who initially committed traffic violations, was given a verbal warning and sent on his way.