Meth trafficking charges filed in Elgin vs. man
From Staff Reports July 13, 2012 2:48PM
Updated: August 17, 2012 6:33AM
ELGIN — A Rockford man was charged with Class X and Class Super X felony drug offenses after he and a woman allegedly tossed a 1-pound package of the drug methamphetamine out of their car’s window in Elgin.
According to Elgin police Lt. Dan O’Shea, an officer approached a suspicious vehicle parked in the 400 block of Franklin Street about 11:55 p.m. Wednesday. As the officer walked up, the car sped away with its headlights turned off, the officer reported. The vehicle was located a short time later and the driver and passengers were taken into custody, police said.
In the area where the vehicle initially sped away, O’Shea said, officers found a paper bag containing about 1 pound of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $45,000.
Jorge L. Ramirez, 40, of the 300 block of Lincoln Avenue, Rockford, was charged with a Super Class X felony (possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver) and a Class X felony (possession of a controlled substance). Ramirez also was charged with numerous traffic violations.
If convicted, Ramirez faces eight to 50 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. In bond court Friday, his bail was set at $2 million.
His passenger, 26-year-old Guadalupe Valdovinos-Baca, also of the 300 block of Lincoln Avenue in Rockford, was charged with felony obstruction of justice. Her bail was set at $40,000.
Both were assigned July 22 court dates.
A third occupant in the vehicle was released without charges.
