32 Pounds Of THC-Infused Gummy Bears Found In Evanston: Police

EVANSTON, IL — A judge ordered a Waukegan man held without bail at Cook County Jail after Evanston police reported finding more than 32 pounds of THC-infused gummy bears in the back of his car during a search on Saturday.

At the time of his arrest, the man was awaiting trial in Lake County on cannabis and controlled substance charges following an arrest in Highland Park in October. He is also on probation in Cook County following an arrest in Evanston last June.

Fredo Demaret, 24, of the 500 block of Douglas Avenue, Waukegan, was arrested around 6 p.m. on March 23 and charged with possession and possession with intent to deliver more than 5000 grams of a substance containing cannabis, police said.

Evanston police pulled over a rental car after it ran a stop sign at the corner of Wesley Avenue and Lake Street. The traffic officer stopped the gray Hyundai in the 1500 block of Wesley Avenue and walked up to the driver, Demaret.

The officer reported smelling marijuana and noticing what appeared to be cannabis oil and packaging suggesting the possession of marijuana, according to Cmdr. Ryan Glew. The traffic officer called in a Evanston police K-9 unit to sniff around the car. The police dog signaled that it smelled drugs, police said.

A full search of the car turned up four bags of gummy bears, weighing 476 grams, and seven containers of THC oil in the front passenger compartment, according to police. Two U.S. Postal Service boxes that appeared to have been sent to Demaret were found in the back of the Hyundai, Glew said.

Police also seized $795 in cash from Demaret and issued two tickets for failure to stop at a stop sign. A passenger who had been riding with him at the time of the stop was released without charges.

At the time of his latest arrest, Demaret was on probation following his June 5, 2018, arrest in the 1800 block of Seward Street on a felony charge of manufacture and delivery of cannabis.

On Oct. 10, Demaret picked up two more felony charges following his arrest by Highland Park police, who reported pulling him over for speeding and finding somewhere between 30 and 500 grams of cannabis and an unspecified controlled substance in his possession. It also turned out he did not have insurance, police reported at the time. Highland Park police declined to answer questions about charges related that incident.

This week, a Cook County judge ruled Demaret violated the terms of the probation from the previous Evanston arrest and ordered him held without bond. According to the sheriff's office, the judge gave Demaret a personal recognizance bond — a $10,000 I-bond — on the latest Cook County charges related to the 32 pounds of gummy bears.

Demaret is due back in court in Cook County on April 16. A preliminary trial date for the Highland Park charges had been set for April 22 with a case management conference scheduled for April 4.