18,956 Grams Of Cocaine Found During I-55 Traffic Stop Near Braidwood: Sheriff

BRAIDWOOD, IL — A 48-year-old man named Jose Rodarte-Garcia from Fort Worth, Texas, will now reside in the Will County Jail for an indefinite period of time after his weekend arrest by the Will County Sheriff's Office. He was stopped south of Joliet along Interstate 55 in connection and accused of trying to deliver 18,956 grams of cocaine to someone in Michigan.

Will County Judge Ted Jarz ruled in favor of the prosecution's petition to deny pretrial release for Rodarte, who is charged with two Class X felonies, controlled substance trafficking and unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

According to the petition, Will County Sheriff's deputy Doyle pulled over the red Ford Econoline as it was going north along I-55 near Reed Road on Saturday around 7:30 a.m. after seeing the windshield had a large, unsafe crack that ran from the A-pillar past the center of the windshield, obstructing the driver's view.

Rodarte acknowledged the windshield was damaged and needed to be fixed, court files show. Deputy Doyle's K-9 Edo gave a positive alert for narcotics in the vehicle, and the Will County deputy discovered 15 packages wrapped in tinfoil containing vacuum-sealed packages of white powder, which tested positive for the 18,965 grams of cocaine, court documents indicate.

Rodarte told sheriff's deputies his wife's cousin told him to pick up the van and drive it to Grand Rapids, Michigan. This is not the first trip he's made.

"Defendant stated he generally drives to the city he's told to go, stays in a hotel, then calls the cousin and leaves the keys in the van, other people then pick up the van and bring it back to him when it has been filled with parcels," prosecutors pointed out to Judge Jarz. Rodarte told sheriff's deputies he has been doing this for three months.

"Defendant stated the van came from Mexico yesterday and that he usually makes $1,000 per trip and sometimes up to $2,000. Defendant also gave written consent to search his phone," the petition noted.

In the petition to deny pretrial release, Will County prosecutors noted that "defendant brought over 18,000 grams of cocaine into the state of Illinois in a hidden compartment of a vehicle that he admitted came from Mexico."

In addition to marking off the box for "dangerousness standard," Judge Jarz ruled that Rodarte "has no attachment to our community here."