8 arrested in mailed pot bust in Cary

A narcotics probe in which someone mailed $13,600 worth of marijuana to a Cary address resulted in eight arrests Friday, police said.

According to police, the package originated in California and was delivered to a home in the 700 block of Laurel Lane in Cary.

On Friday, the same day of delivery, members of the Illinois State Police North Central Task Force and the United States Postal Service executed a search warrant on the house.

They seized 2,159 grams of marijuana, $1,535 cash and drug paraphernalia, police said.

The Crystal Lake Police Department and the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office were also involved in the investigation. Police are not saying how they tracked the package to Cary or in which California town it originated. Julie Kenney, a public information representative for the Chicago Division of Postal Inspection Service, would not divulge how the agency profiles packages.

The following seven men were arrested and charged with unlawful possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and unlawful possession of marijuana: Joshua R. Ernst, 21, of Elgin; Ryan D. Kennedy, 21, of Algonquin; Eli P. Kulack, 21, of Algonquin; Maurice R. Lebbos, 20, of Cary; Dylan J. Trama, 20, of Barrington; Jacob N. McGowan, 21, of Algonquin; and Jesse C. Peterson, 20, of West Dundee.

“We are alleging that all seven of those individuals were engaged in an enterprise to purchase and distribute the marijuana,” said Bill Backus, director of the task force.

Meanwhile, Nicole B. Lebbos, 19, of Cary, was charged with unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor, Backus said. She was booked and released on her signature the same day.

She and Maurice Lebbos are brother and sister. The package was delivered to the home the Lebboses share with their parent, s and police don’t believe Nicole Lebbos was involved in the larger case, Backus said. Bail was set at $80,000 for Maurice Lebbos, Trama, Peterson, McGowan, Kennedy and Ernst.

Maurice Lebbos, Trama, Peterson, Kennedy and Ernst are all out on bond while they await their next court appearance. Kulack’s bail was set at $40,000, but he remains behind bars, police said.

The group is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 27 in Woodstock. If found guilty of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, the men could face between four and 15 years in prison. Nicole Lebbos could spend up to a year in prison if convicted on her charge.