Man gets 9 years for planning to sell cocaine near Elgin park

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An East Dundee man was sentenced to 9 years in prison after he was found last year with roughly 8 grams of cocaine he planned to sell near a park in northwest suburban Elgin.

About 11 p.m. March 31, officers saw 39-year-old Maurice Wheeler Jr. and another person “acting suspiciously” in a car that was parked near the intersection of Meyer Street and Jane Drive, which is within 1,000 feet of Cornerstone Park, prosecutors said.

After approaching the suspects, the officers smelled marijuana and asked Wheeler to get out of the car, prosecutors said. Wheeler then took off when the officers began to search him.

They ultimately tracked Wheeler down and found him with 7.9 grams of cocaine in his pants, prosecutors said. In the process, a “physical struggle” ensued and one of the officers suffered an eye injury. Officers also found two scales and other drugs in the car.

Wheeler later admitted that he sold drugs to friends during an interview with police, prosecutors said.

In December, Wheeler was convicted of felony counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver within 1,000 feet of a park and resisting a peace officer, according to the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office.

After waiving his right to a jury trial, Wheeler was sentenced Thursday to 9 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, prosecutors said.

According to state law, Wheeler is eligible for day-to-day sentencing. He received credit for 322 days served at the Kane County Jail in St. Charles, where he had been held since his arrest in lieu of $100,000 bail, prosecutors said.

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