A 45-year-old Illinois man is facing charges of possession of a controlled substance, aggravated fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer, driving under revocation and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. The charges are related to an incident that occurred on June 19.
The man was driving with a headlight out in the early morning hours. An officer spotted his vehicle and attempted to pull him over. Instead of complying, the man sped away, running a stop sign. He ran into a utility pole and two parking meters before exiting his car and fleeing on foot. He was detained not far from where the crash happened. According to reports, he was in possession of nearly an ounce of cocaine and more than $1,000.
The man’s prior convictions include domestic battery, unlawful possession of weapons, delivery of a controlled substance, escape, obstructing justice, driving under the influence and revocation, aggravated battery and second-degree murder. The judge set a $75,000 bond.
Drug charges can have serious consequences, and how a person approaches defense is in part affected by the specific circumstances around the charges. For example, if they are first-time charges, a person might want to find out whether it is possible to get the charges removed altogether. For a person who already has drug-related charges as in this case, the person might want to focus on reducing the severity of the sentence. This could be done by accepting a plea bargain in which a person pleads guilty to lesser charges. However, depending on the evidence the prosecution has, the person might instead want to plead not guilty and go to court. Charges might also be dropped if evidence was not legally obtained or a person’s rights were violated in another way.
Source: WANT 17, “Champaign man busted for cocaine“, June 20, 2018