Boredom, Auto Theft, Lakefront Pot-Smoking and a U of I Weed Party

Riverside, IL - A man caught driving a stolen car March 3 told Riverside police he'd gone to a Cicero home to use drugs, where he got bored and stole the car so he could drive to Chicago to smoke cannabis on the lakefront.

He also told police that when he got to Chicago, he realized it was too cold to be on the lakefront, so he and a passenger went to Urbana-Champaign to go to a "weed party" at the University of Illinois, where they bought cannabis, smoked it and then drove to the Riverside area.

“To think that Mr. Almazan stole a motor vehicle along with the victim’s wallet and credit cards and then drove to Chicago before driving to Champaign-Urbana to 'visit' the campus and a weed party before returning back to the metro Chicago area is in itself ridiculous," said Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel in a statement. "I really do not think these are the type of school visits that University of Illinois administrators envision when young men and women drive out for a campus visit.”

A Riverside officer noticed the car's tail lights were broken, and a registration check showed it had been stolen March 2 from the 3500 block of South 60th Court in Cicero, according to Riverside police.

Juan A. Almazan, 21 of the 3000 block of South Laramie in Cicero, was pulled over at 4:40 p.m. on Riverside Road, and he and the passenger, Omar Morales, 19, of the 900 block of Keeman Avenue in La Grange, were arrested.

Police found small plastic bags containing a green leafy substance that tested positive for cannabis, pill bottles with cannabis inside, digital scales and empty clear plastic bags, police reported.

Inside the car, police also found a cannabis grinder, an iPhone that had been reported stolen and a wallet containing credit cards and gift cards that didn't belong to Almazan or Morales.

Almazan acknowledged in a written statement that he stole the car, police reported. He explained how he was bored in Cicero so he took the car and drove to Chicago and then to Urbana-Champaign, where he and Morales bought cannabis and smoked it. He also said he wanted to visit the University of Illinois campus to see if he wanted to attend school there.

Almazan was charged with felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle, a Class 2 felony, and felony theft over $500, a Class 3 felony, possession of drug paraphernalia, and he received traffic citations. He was also wanted on two outstanding no bond warrants for domestic battery, issued by Cook County sheriff police and Cicero police. He was held for felony bond court.

Morales was charged with possession of cannabis and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was booked and released after posting bond.

Photos courtesy of Riverside police. Photo 1: Juan A. Almazan. Photo 2: Omar Morales.