Oregon man facing drug charges after Kane County traffic stop

A traffic stop Thursday led Kane County sheriff's deputies to discover a stash of high-quality marijuana in the possession of a retired Oregon sheriff's deputy, officials said.

William Floyd Marsh Jr., 56, of Creswell, Ore., has been charged with armed violence, cannabis trafficking, delivery of more than 5,000 grams of cannabis, possession of more than 5,000 grams of cannabis and money laundering, the sheriff's office said Friday.

Kane County Sheriff's Special Operations Deputies stopped a 2007 Dodge Ram pickup truck for speeding in a construction zone just after 11 a.m. Thursday on I-90 near Route 47 in Hampshire Township, according to Kane County Sheriff's Lt. Pat Gengler.

After being stopped, Marsh identified himself as a retired deputy from the Clackamas County, Ore., sheriff's office, Gengler said, and informed deputies he was armed, which he legally entitled to do as a retired officer.

As the stop proceeded, deputies became suspicious that Marsh may have been involved in narcotics trafficking, Gengler said.

"Something led them to start digging," he said.

A search of the vehicle revealed a handgun, in addition to the handgun Marsh was carrying, and $80,000 of U.S. currency hidden in tool boxes in the bed of the truck, Gengler said.

The investigation also led the sheriff's office to drugs kept at storage units in Palatine and Chicago.

After obtaining search warrants for the storage lockers at 143 E. Lake-Cook Road, Palatine, and 2835 N. Western Ave., Chicago, deputies seized a total of about 55 pounds of high-grade cannabis with an estimated street value of $750,000, as well as an additional $2,185 in currency, Gengler said.

Marsh is being held in the Kane County jail on $1.5 million bond; his next scheduled court date is Feb. 21.