Two parolees held on new drug charges following Trident stop in Peru

Two parolees face new felony drug charges and will remain held in La Salle County Jail, prosecutors said Monday.

Jeremy L. Johnson, 43, of La Salle and Khalid M. Norwood, 30, of Country Club Hills (also listed as a resident of Streator) were taken into county custody Friday following operations by the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Narcotics Team.

Both were charged following a Friday evening traffic stop in Peru, Trident confirmed. A K-9 officer alerted to contraband and the resulting search yielded more than 50 grams of purported crack cocaine and just under 15 grams of purported heroin, according to police and court records.

Johnson and Norwood each face one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance (more than 15 grams of cocaine), a Class X felony carrying six to 30 years in prison, and one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance (less than 15 grams of heroin), a Class 1 felony carrying four to 15 years in prison.

Ordinarily, felony drug charges – even with mandatory prison sentences – are not detainable offenses under the SAFE-T Act, which gives all suspects the presumption of pre-trial release.

However, both Johnson and Norwood are subject to parole holds by the Illinois Department of Corrections. Johnson was paroled in early 2024 after serving part of a four-year sentence for drugs. Norwood was paroled in November after serving part of a six-year hitch, also for drugs.

Court dates are pending in La Salle County Circuit Court before Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr.