Stop for speeding in Troy snowballs into other charges for Round Lake Beach man

By Charles Bolinger

Editor • A white Volkswagen Jetta sedan doing 80 mph in a 65 mph speed zone on I-55 was more than enough to attract the attention of Troy Police Ofc. Jennifer Hautly on June 5.

She stopped the southbound car at mile marker 18.

Per her official incident field report, she contacted the driver, Nicholas Carlos, from the car’s passenger side, explained the reason for the stop and requested his driver’s license and proof of insurance.

While Carlos searched for his vehicle’s proof of insurance, he had the car’s glovebox open and Hautly saw a metal tray with cannabis on it. She reported she could also smell raw cannabis coming from the vehicle. She asked Carlos how much cannabis was in the vehicle. He reached into an open area under the car’s stereo and handed Hautly a plastic sandwich back with cannabis buds.

She called for backup, which yielded help from Ofc. Nicholas Elliott and Troy Assistant Police Chief Andrew Evans. 

Hautly requested Carlos to exit his vehicle, which he did.

During a probable cause search of the vehicle, Hautly located an open alcoholic beverage, a White Claw Seltzer in the driver’s door. She reported its can was still cold to the touch and half-full. She checked the cooler in the front passenger seat and discovered Carlos had stashed multiple White Claws inside with an ice pack.

Hautly asked Carlos how much alcohol he had consumed and he replied ‘one White Claw and started drinking the second one’ she located in the driver’s door panel. She dumped out the open container and had Carlos provide a breath sample to see if he was safe to drive. Per her report, his blood-alcohol content was .000.

She issued him citations for: cannabis possession, speeding (80 in a 65) and alcohol possession. The cannabis was secured in a temporary locker by Ofc. Elliott. Carlos was released at the scene. The cannabis was photographed and weighed (5.8 grams), before it was re-secured into evidence.