9 Years For Man Found With Cocaine Near Elgin Park

ELGIN, IL – A 35-year-old East Dundee man has been sentenced to nine years in jail for possessing cocaine near an Elgin park. Authorities said Maurice Wheeler, Jr., had intentions of selling the cocaine when they found it on him in March 2017.

Elgin patrol officers first found Wheeler in a parked car with a front-seat passenger, who were both reportedly acting suspiciously, in the area of Meyer Street and Jane Drive at about 11 p.m. on March 31, 2017, according to a news release from the Kane County State's Attorney's Office. The location is near Cornerstone Park on the west side of Elgin.

Officers smelled burnt marijuana and asked Wheeler to get out of the car. Once out of the vehicle, Wheeler fled on foot when officers began to search him. An officer ended up with an eye injury during a physical struggle, prosecutors said.

Officers found 7.9 grams of cocaine in Wheeler's pants, authorities said. They also found two scales and other drugs in his car.

During an interview with police, Wheeler admitted that he provides drugs to his friends, according to a news release.

Wheeler, of the 200 block of Van Buren Street in East Dundee, was convicted last December of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver within 1,000 feet of a park, a class X felony; and resisting a peace officer, a class 4 felony. Wheeler waived his right to a jury trial.

He was sentenced to the nine years in prison on Thursday in Kane County. He received credit for 322 days served in the Kane County Jail where he was been held on a $100,000 bond since his arrest.