Cheaters' Attempts To Foil Drug Tests Thwarted: Cops

BRIDGEVIEW, IL -- Two men were caught cheating on court-ordered drug tests in separate incidents at the Bridgeview Courthouse, prosecutors said. Emmanuel Macias, 23, of Stickney, and Brian Hettiger, 23, of Oak Lawn, appeared before Cook County Judge Peter Felice, where each is facing a felony charge of attempting to foil and defeat a drug screen. Both men were required to submit to drug testing as a condition of their probation or bond.

Around 11:15 a.m. Sept. 27, Hettiger reported to his probation officer at the Bridgeview Courthouse. Hettiger was escorted into the bathroom for a urine test. The probation officer said he heard Hettiger fiddling around and noticed him looking over his shoulder. Hettiger was spotted allegedly pouring urine from a small bottle into the cup. The temperature of the clandestine urine did not trigger the cup’s heat sensor, the prosecutor said.

Hettiger was charged with a violation of probation is being held without bond. Bail on the new charge was set at $30,000. Hettiger is due back in court Oct. 16 in Bridgeview.

Later the same day, around 3:45 p.m. Macias reported to his probation officer for a pot possession conviction. The probation officer was in the bathroom during Macias’s urine test, but did not hear hear anything, the prosecutor said. When Macias produced the cup, the probation officer said he could not get a heat reading. Macias allegedly admitted to Cook County Sheriff’s deputies that he brought in someone else’s urine so he could pass the drug test. He was ordered held without bail for violating probation.

“This is a crime on top of a crime,” Felice said. “It’s somewhat of a red flag that he’s bringing someone else’s urine.”

The judge gave Macias a $20,000 I-bond for the new charge. Macias is scheduled for a court hearing on Oct. 16.