Bursting Bottles, Tin Foil Smoking In Alley Leads To Drug Arrests

EVANSTON, IL — Two Indiana men were arrested and accused of intending to distribute meth after police heard loud bangs coming from an alley early Thursday. Officers on patrol shortly after 1:30 a.m. near the intersection of Howard Street and Asbury Avenue were alerted to the sound of "two loud reports," according to communications coordinator Perry Polinski.

While looking for the source of the noise in the west alley in the 100 block of Asbury, police said they noticed smoke coming from two broken plastic bottles and tin foil laying on the ground next to a dumper and a silver Infiniti with Indiana plates parked nearby.

Thomas J. Dalton, 33, of the 14100 block of Doffin Street in Cedar Lake, Indiana, and Pedro D. Jimenez, 26, of the 7500 block of Grand Avenue in Hammond, Indiana, were both arrested and charged with a trio of narcotics-related felonies, as the result of the incident.

Officers saw a hypodermic needle sitting on the driver's seat, police said. The passenger, Jimenez, told police the driver and registered owner of the car had gone into the nearby IHOP restaurant. The driver, Dalton, showed up almost immediately and both men were detained before the car was searched, according to Polinski.

Police found 44.8 grams of crystal methamphetamine in the car and two baggies of heroin. The syringe found in the car also contained suspected heroin, Polinski said. Both men were charged with possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver, a class X felony, and two class 1 felonies, unlawful possession of methamphetamine and unlawful possession of a controlled substance. No further bond or court information was immediately available.