2017 Jeep Patriot, $640 Could Be Seized Amid Marijuana Charges

JOLIET, IL - This week the Will County State's Attorney's Office put 41-year-old Joliet resident Ronald Morris on notice that the 2017 Jeep Patriot he was driving in February faces a forfeiture complaint at the Will County Courthouse. Morris, who lives in the 900 block of Draper Avenue, was taken into custody in late February by Will County Sheriff's police in connection with marijuana charges.

Morris was driving the blue Jeep southbound along Briggs Street when the sheriff's deputy saw that Morris was following too closely the car in front of him, court documents show. Then, after Morris entered a no-passing zone marked with double yellow lines, Morris passed the car in front of him, prompting the Will County deputy to put on his emergency sirens and pull over Morris, court documents indicate.

The traffic stop occurred at Route 6 and Briggs. "Deputy Coleman detected a strong odor of burnt and fresh cannabis emitting from inside the 2017 Jeep Patriot," court papers show. "Morris stated that he smoked weed earlier."

Another sheriff's deputy was summoned and the Jeep was searched for drugs.

Morris was searched for weapons and he didn't have any, but he did have $500 in cash in his right front pocket, court documents state.

Inside the Jeep, deputy Coleman found a black gym bag on the floor behind the front passenger seat and it contained "fourteen individual clear plastic bags containing a green leafy substance ... which proved positive for the probable presence of marijuana," the forfeiture complaint reads. "The individual bags were also weighed at the scene and had an approximate weight of 100 grams."

Morris was put in cuffs and the cash in his pocket added up to $640. The marijuana was weighed again at the sheriff's office and it was 105 grams.

A court hearing on the forfeiture complaint has been set for Sept. 12 at the Will County Courthouse.

Morris spent about 24 hours in the county jail before posting 10 percent of his $10,000 bail on Feb. 24.

Mugshot of Ronald Morris via Will County Sheriff