Father charged after son brings ‘illegal substance’ to Maywood school

A man is facing child endangerment charges after his son allegedly brought an illegal powder substance to his elementary school in west suburban Maywood and shared it with other students.

On Sept. 20, officers learned that a student brought a sandwich bag filled with a white powdery substance to Garfield Elementary School, 1514 S. Ninth Ave., according to a statement from Maywood police. Five students who ingested the substance were taken to hospitals when they reported becoming sick.

The powder was sent to Illinois State Police for further analysis after testing positive for an illegal substance, police said. Authorities didn’t specify what illegal substance the powder tested positive for, and messages left with police asking for clarification were not immediately returned Wednesday.

The boy told a staff member at the school that his father had given him the powder earlier that morning, police said.

The boy’s father, 37-year-old Emilio Contreras, was taken into custody Monday and charged with five misdemeanor counts of child endangerment and one felony count of possession of a controlled substance, according to police and Cook County court records.

Contreras’s bond was set at $50,000 Friday for child endangerment and controlled substance charges, but he was being held without bond on a separate assault charge, according to court records. His next court date for the controlled substance and child endangerment charges was scheduled for Oct. 25.