Man facing drug charges after trying to disguise cocaine as hamburger

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Ill. (KBSI) – A man from Texas faces charges in Williamson County after sheriff’s deputies say he disguised cocaine in a hamburger wrapper.

Jesus A. Garza Trevino faces charges of possession of controlled substance, controlled substance trafficking and delivery of controlled substance.

Williamson County sheriff’s deputies were assigned to a traffic control detail during the Interstate 57/Grassy Road overpass closure on November 5.

At 6:54 p.m. deputies conducted a routine patrol of the Road Ranger Travel Center near Interstate 57 and Illinois State Route 148.

The Road Ranger is located where Interstate 57 traffic was being diverted due to the temporary road closure.

When deputies entered the parking lot they saw a man standing near the rear quarter panel of a vehicle parked at the fuel pumps. The vehicle had a Texas registration plate.

When the man noticed the deputies he tried to conceal his presence by ducking his head and turning his body away, according to the deputies with the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies pulled into a parking space near the entrance of the store and continued to watch the man.

The man continued to appear to be nervous and concerned with the presence of law enforcement.

Another man left the store and made contact with the suspicious man. The suspicious man then entered the front passenger seat of the vehicle while the other male got into the driver’s seat.

The vehicle started and instead of leaving, pulled into the parking stall directly in front of their vehicle.

The passenger got out of the vehicle and conducted a functions test of both turn signals, brake lights, and the rear registration plate light.

After a short time, the vehicle was driven across the parking lot westbound onto Illinois State Route 148.

After traveling about 1000 feet northbound on Grange Hall Road, deputies saw a vehicle making a U-turn in the middle of the road on a curve which required them to come to a stop in the road.

Deputies identified the vehicle as the one they were watching at the Road Ranger. The suspect vehicle then came to a stop in the middle of the road.

Once the vehicle had come to a complete stop, the front passenger got out of the vehicle and approached the marked patrol vehicle.

The man that got out of the vehicle was the same one who was seen engaging in nervous behavior before the traffic stop.

Deputies activated their emergency lighting system and conducted a traffic stop.

Deputies approached the vehicle and made contact with the occupants including the front seat passenger who was identified as Jesus A. Garza Trevino.

Trevino told deputies he was coming from Laredo, Texas and was on the way to Ligonier, Indiana but was unable to provide a destination address. He said he did not have an ending address and would be contacted by someone on where to meet them when he was close to Limonier.

While completing the traffic stop a Williamson County Sheriff’s Office K9 arrived on scene. A free air sniff of the vehicle was conducted which resulted in a positive alert to the odor or narcotics.

A probable cause search of the vehicle was conducted. Deputies found an object behind the glove compartment. The object was in a brown glove and hidden in the natural void behind the glove compartment. It was tightly wrapped in electrical tape. Deputies made a cut in the tape and saw a white, powdery substance inside that field tested positive for cocaine, according to the sheriff’s office.

While continuing to search the vehicle deputies found a Wendy’s restaurant bag which contained a cheeseburger. When they open the wrapped cheeseburger, they found another object wrapped in black electrical tape which also field tested positive for cocaine.

The cocaine, weighed approximately two ounces, was seized and entered into evidence.

Trevino told the deputies that the cocaine was his that he purchased in Laredo, Texas and that he distributes cocaine.

He was taken to the Williamson County Jail.