Man, 19, charged with having 2 pounds of marijuana in Riverside

A 19-year-old man was charged Tuesday with felony cannabis possession after two pounds of the drug was discovered in his car following a traffic stop in west suburban Riverside.

A Riverside police officer responded to a call of a street robbery about 9:04 p.m. Tuesday at the corner of 26th Street and Harem Avenue when he saw a black 2017 Chevrolet Cruze speeding away from the area, according to a statement from Riverside police.

The officer then stopped the car and walked up to the driver’s side, police said. He smelled a “strong odor of cannabis” coming from the inside and its driver. A 23-year-old man was also in the car at the time of the stop.

After the officer asked whether the driver had been smoking marijuana, Dangelo Colon noted that he had recently bought a small amount of the drug on Chicago’s North Side and was headed to his home, police said. Officers then searched the car, uncovering a small amount of a leafy green substance that tested positive for cannabis.

During the stop, Colon appeared “extremely nervous,” sweating and giving conflicting accounts of what he and his passenger were doing prior to being pulled over, police said. Colon and the passenger were then taken to the Riverside police station for further investigation and the car was towed for evidence.

After arriving at the station, Riverside police contacted the Cook County Sheriff’s K9 Unit to search the car, police said. The search uncovered two pounds of cannabis packaged inside the car, as well as drug paraphernalia.

After the marijuana was uncovered, Colon said he drove from Shorewood to an abandoned strip mall at Harlem and North avenues in Chicago’s Galewood neighborhood where he bought 2 pounds of cannabis for $1,700 in cash, police said. He was driving home from Harlem Avenue to I-55 when Riverside police pulled him over.

Colon was charged with felony possession of cannabis over 500 grams, felony manufacture and delivery of cannabis, possession of drug paraphernalia and speeding, police said. His car was also seized during his arrest, and Riverside police are attempting to file civil seizure paperwork as a result of the incident.

Colon’s passenger, a 23-year-old Bolingbrook man, was also cited for possessing less than 10 grams of cannabis, police said. The passenger was not involved in the sale or possession of the two pounds of cannabis.