Man Arrested On Drug Charge At Courthouse After Showing Up For Another Drug Case: Prosecutor

OAK LAWN, IL -- A Chicago man was arrested at the Bridgeview Courthouse on a drug charge after he showed up for another drug case, prosecutors said in court.

Levoia Hardy, 32, appeared before Cook County Judge Donald Havis on charges of possession of a controlled substance. He is currently on parole for a similar charge, and has another pending drug case.

On Feb. 7, Hardy was the target of a controlled drug buy in Oak Lawn, in which police observed him selling cocaine. He was not arrested at that time, the prosecutor said.

Early the next day, around 3:13 a.m., Bridgeview police responded to a call of suspicious vehicle parked in a gas station parking lot at 8700 S. Harlem Ave. The caller said a man had been sitting inside a vehicle for 30 minutes.

When the Bridgeview cops approached the vehicle, a man, later identified as Hardy, was sleeping with a bag of cannabis in one hand and a bag of a white powdery substance in the other, the prosecutor said.

Hardy allegedly swallowed the bag of powder when police woke him up. Strewn on the floor were 20 white pills, said to be hydrocodone.

The prosecutor said Hardy admitted to selling the pills to make money. He has eight prior felony convictions for possession of a controlled substance, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance.

The judge set bail at $250,000 for each of the new cases. A violation of bail bond was also issued. Hardy’s next court date is Feb. 16 in Bridgeview.