Occasional 'Zip' Seller Arrested With Glock, Pot, Knives and Liquid Codeine: Prosecutor

Timothy Sarcia, 27 | Cook County Sheriff

A computer service company owner is facing multiple felonies after police discovered weapons, pot, liquid codeine, a Glock and a retractable baton that he purchased from Amazon in his home and car, prosecutors said.

Timothy Sarcia, 27, of Evergreen Park, appeared before Associate County Judge John Hynes on charges of unlawful use of a weapon, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of cannabis with intent to deliver.

Evergreen Park police spotted Sarcia driving near 99th Street and Western Avenue around 2:42 p.m. March 2. Knowing Sarcia to have a suspended driver’s license, police pulled him over, the prosecutor said.

According to the charges, officers said they could smell burnt cannabis as they approached Sarcia’s vehicle. After confirming that Sarcia’s license was suspended, police found a 15-inch knife, a 7-inch knife and a retractable baton, which Sarcia said he purchased for $20 from Amazon, inside his car.

Sarcia allegedly told officers he carried the knives and baton for “protection,” and was unaware the weapons were illegal.

Evergreen Park obtained a search warrant and went to Sarcia’s residence about an hour after he was arrested. Police used Sarcia’s key to gain entry into his home, where officers encountered Sarcia’s girlfriend.

The prosecutor said police went upstairs in Sarcia’s bedroom where they found 89 live rounds, a 9mm Glock, 775 grams of liquid codeine and over four pounds of marijuana. Sarcia claimed the Glock was for protection.

Sarcia also allegedly told police the pot was for his personal use, but that he occasionally sold “zips.” He knew he would have to “stop messing around with pot and expected something like this to happen,” Sarcia allegedly told police.

Sarcia’s attorney told the judge that Sarcia owns a computer repair service company. Sarcia was the complaining witness in a violent crime where he’d been living in Indiana.

“I wanted to bring these things out,” Sarcia’s attorney said. “This is a well known case.”

Sarcia was witness to the 2012 shooting of his live-in girlfriend in the hallway outside their apartment in Schererville, IN.

News reports said that Sarcia watched a man put his girlfriend in a chokehold through the peephole in the door. The woman was shot in the back apparently for $85 in tips she had earned that evening as a server. Three men were arrested and charged with the woman’s murder.

Judge Hynes set bail at $250,000. Sarcia’s next court hearing is March 31 in Bridgeview.