Judge tosses drug conviction in case tied to two indicted Chicago cops

A Chicago man’s drug conviction was vacated Tuesday in Cook County criminal court after he claimed he was framed by officers now facing federal corruption charges.

Ulysses Robles, 24, was arrested on a felony marijuana possession charge in connection with a 2016 search of his father’s apartment near Midway Airport.

Two of the Chicago cops on the raid were Sgt. Xavier Elizondo and Officer David Salgado, who’ve been indicted in federal court on allegations they pilfered cash and drugs during searches and shared the proceeds with informants.

In May, attorneys Louis Meyer, Dan Kiss and Darryl Goldberg sued the officers and the city on behalf of Robles’ father Raul Robles, who claimed they stole money, watches and guns from his apartment. His lawsuit is pending.

On Tuesday, Judge Domenica Stephenson vacated Ulysses Robles’ conviction without an objection from prosecutors. He’ll no longer have to complete two years of “first-offender” probation and 30 hours of community service. Ulysses Robles told the court he wouldn’t have pleaded guilty if he’d known of the allegations against the cops.

In the search of the Robles’ home, the officers submitted an inventory saying they seized $3,800, four guns and two bulletproof vests. Raul Robles claims they took another $1,800 and two watches. The police department investigated and found Raul Robles’ allegations to be unfounded, but the department returned $3,800 in a check, his attorneys say.

The officers face five other lawsuits in federal court, including one filed last month alleging they were on a 2017 raid when a man was beaten so badly he required a week of medical care in the hospital in the Cook County Jail, where he was being held on felony gun and drug charges. In February, prosecutors dismissed those charges.

Elizondo and Salgado were indicted in May for allegedly using anonymous “John Doe” informants who presented false information to judges to approve search warrants. Dozens of other criminal cases have been dropped this year as Cook County prosecutors continue to review cases handled by the two officers, who were placed on desk duty in January by the police department.