Duo Found With 240 Grams Of Pot, Charged With Felonies: Des Plaines PD

DES PLAINES, IL — After pulling into a gas station where police were conducting a premise check, two men in a car were found to have more than 200 grams of cannabis inside the vehicle.

Cristopher Villalba, 28, of the 1200 block of Wyndham Court, Palatine, is accused of felony possession of cannabis with intent to deliver (30 grams to 500 grams), felony possession of cannabis (100 grams to 500 grams), and a misdemeanor charge of possession of cannabis by a driver. Gilberto Villalba, 21, of the 600 block of S. Wayne Place, Wheeling, is accused of felony possession of cannabis with intent to deliver (30 grams to 500 grams), and felony possession of cannabis (100 grams to 500 grams). Both were arrested Tuesday and released.

Police were conducting the premise check at a gas station in the 1500 block of Woodland Avenue at 10:45 p.m. Tuesday when a black Mitsubishi Lancer entered the parking lot and stopped next to a gas pump. As the driver's door opened, an officer smelled a strong odor of cannabis emitting from inside the car. The officer began to drive toward the Mitsubishi when the driver, later identified as Cristopher Villalba, immediately left the parking lot northwest on Rand Road toward Des Plaines River Road.

Police followed the car, eventually pulling it over on a side street in the 1500 block of Woodland Road. While speaking to the two, police continued to smell the odor of cannabis, and saw cannabis residue scattered throughout the interior of the vehicle. The two were asked to exit the car.

Police searched the car and found several clear plastic bags containing a green leafy substance, suspected to be cannabis. The suspected cannabis was found in multiple areas of the vehicle and not packaged properly in an approved container, according to police.