Whiteside records: I-88 driver stopped, tells trooper he’s driving 150 pounds of marijuana to Chicago to sell

MORRISON – A Philadelphia man behind bars in Whiteside County has been charged with trafficking and possessing marijuana after telling authorities he had about 150 pounds of the drug in his vehicle, that he had stolen the weed in northern California and was driving to the Chicago area to sell it.

Eudes M. Anderson, 49, is formally charged with one count of trafficking more than 5,000 grams of cannabis and one count of possessing more than 5,000 grams of cannabis with intent to deliver, both Class X felonies; and one count of possessing more than 5,000 grams of cannabis, a Class 1 felony, according to court documents. He has pleaded not guilty to all three charges.

An Illinois state trooper on Aug. 6 made a stop on Anderson, who lists his occupation as a truck driver, for an alleged traffic violation as he traveled east on Interstate 88, at mile marker 42 near Rock Falls, according to court records and Trooper Jayme Bufford, an Illinois State Police public information officer.

Court documents state the trooper smelled an odor of raw cannabis coming from the vehicle’s interior, saw blankets covering two large bags in the middle section of the vehicle and saw items on the middle floorboard and in the cargo section of the vehicle. After seeing heat-sealed packaging in the center console area and smelling what the trooper believed to be raw cannabis, the trooper told Anderson the vehicle would be searched, according to court records.

According to court documents, after admitting to the trooper that he stole the cannabis and was driving to the Chicago area to sell it, Anderson also told the trooper he had made drug-trafficking trips several times.

Those documents also state Anderson has prior convictions in New York state that include third-degree attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance in 1999; third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance in 2000; third-degree attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance in 2000; and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and intent to sell a narcotic drug, both in 2007.

Those convictions and the details of the traffic stop, as well as his lack of ties to Illinois and the prosecution’s belief that Anderson is a danger to the community, were listed in the prosecution’s petition to deny pretrial release, which was granted.

A trial date has been set for Oct. 15. Anderson is represented by Whiteside County Public Defender James Fagerman.