96 MPH In 55-Zone, Joliet Motorist Must Be Denied Pretrial Release Under SAFE-T-Act: Prosecutors

JOLIET, IL — The Will County State's Attorney's Office of Jim Glasgow has just filed a petition to deny pretrial release for Joliet 28-year-old Carlos Almazan, who comes from the 300 block of Wheeler Road. Prosecutors have charged him with unlawful delivery of a controlled substance and possession of controlled substances.

According to the petition to deny pretrial release, Joliet police officers Miller and La Ha were on stationary patrol at Chicago Street and Sharp Road when they saw a red Jeep Cherokee traveling northbound along Chicago Road and their radar indicated the Jeep was going 96 mph in a 55-mph zone back on April 26 at 10:28 p.m.

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The officers made a traffic stop and ordered the vehicle impounded because of the excessive speeds. Almazan was the driver and he had a female passenger. While waiting for the tow truck's arrival, one of the officers peered into the open car window and saw two clear plastic baggies each containing a white powdery substance, on the driver's side floorboard, court documents reveal. The drugs were then secured while Almazan and his passenger sat in the backseat of the Joliet police car.

During the inventory, Joliet police found $4,600 cash along with Almazan's driver's license in a side compartment of the rear cargo trunk. Back at the Joliet police station, Almazan blurted out, "I should've handed it off to her, but I thought she'd get mad," prosecutors noted.

Video from inside the Joliet police "revealed a conversation was captured on the squad video where defendant acknowledges the drugs and money located in the vehicle. He tells the passenger he will take ownership of the drugs but she needs to take ownership of the money because she has a job," court documents pointed out. Eventually, Almazan "becomes agitated and tell his passenger ... to stop talking. The cocaine field tested positive and weighted 6.54 grams."