Elgin man charged in drug sales and attempt to trade for gun, police say
By Janelle Walker For The Courier-News November 27, 2012 4:12PM
Updated: December 29, 2012 6:23AM
ELGIN — An Elgin man sold drugs to an undercover officer four times in the past month and tried to trade drugs for a gun during one of those exchanges before he was arrested Monday, police said.
Ramon R. Pickens, 41, of the 1200 block of Fairwood Court, Elgin, has been charged with Class X felony counts of armed violence and manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a park; three Class 1 felony counts of manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance; and possession of a firearm by a felon.
According to police, Pickens sold small amounts of cocaine to an undercover officer on Nov. 1 and Nov. 6, both times on Illinois Avenue near Drake Field; and once on Nov. 15 in a convenience store parking lot in the 1500 block of Big Timber Road.
During the Nov. 15 sale, police said, Pickens asked the undercover officer if he could get Pickens a gun.
Officers used a gun from the evidence vault before meeting Pickens at a gas station on McLean Boulevard on Monday, police said. He was arrested as he went to leave the parked undercover vehicle, police said.
Bail was set at $400,000, and he was given a Dec. 27 court date.
