Aspiring Pot Dealer Nabbed On Way Home To Shorewood: Cops

RIVERSIDE, IL — An aspiring pot dealer’s plot to score two pounds of marijuana and take it home to Shorewood to sell went off the rails when he got pulled over in Riverside, police said.

Dangelo Colon, 19, sped away from the cops — who weren’t even after him at the time — on Harlem Avenue near 26th Street about 9 p.m. Tuesday, police said. The officers were actually investigating a report of a street robbery when Colon allegedly took off, going 58 mph in a 35 mph zone.

The law pulled over Colon’s 2017 Chevy Cruze and and an officer smelled pot, police said.

Colon told the officer “he had just purchased a small amount of cannabis on the North Side of Chicago and was on his way home to Shorewood,” according to police. “Officers searched the vehicle with the permission of (Colon) and initially found a small amount of a green leafy substance that tested positive for cannabis.However, (Colon) was extremely nervous, sweating and giving conflicting stories about what he and his passenger were doing prior to the stop.”

Colon and his passenger, a 23-year-old man from Bolingbrook, were reportedly taken to the Riverside police station, the Cruze was towed and a Cook County drug dog was brought in to search it.

“The canine search was conducted ... and police recovered two pounds of cannabis packaged in the vehicle,” police said. “Additionally, police recovered drug paraphernalia immediately adjacent to where the cannabis was discovered.”

Colon then admitted he had headed up to the North Side to buy pot, police said, and that he picked up the two pounds for $1,700 at an abandoned strip mall.

“The driver stated that he drove all the way from Shorewood to the north side of Chicago to specifically purchase the cannabis and bring it back to his hometown for distribution,” said Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel. “This shows the length individuals will go to purchase narcotics, including cannabis, especially if they think they can turn around and make a quick buck from the ultimate delivery and sale of it once it is cut up for distribution.”

Colon was charged with felony possession of cannabis, felony manufacture and delivery of cannabis, possession of drug paraphernalia and speeding. Police kept the Cruze and plan to file a civil forfeiture case.

The Bolingbrook man was cited under Riverside’s village ordinance for the possession of cannabis.

Dangelo Colon | image via Riverside Police Department