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Round Lake Park man pleads not guilty to drug charges

A Round Lake Park man accused of trying to sell pounds of marijuana from a package erroneously sent to him pleaded not guilty to drug charges in Lake County court Wednesday.

Joseph R. Schmidt, 34, of the 300 block of North Clifton Drive, faces up to seven years in prison if found guilty on two counts of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and two counts of possession of marijuana, prosecutors said.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges in front of Judge James K. Booras on Wednesday.

Police were called to Schmidt's house at 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 7, after he reported receiving an erroneous FedEx shipment containing about 15 pounds of marijuana.

About a week later, police received information about drug sales taking place at Schmidt's residence, authorities said. Officers saw Schmidt sell pot from the home, and he had one pound of marijuana in his possession, authorities said.

More pot was found in Schmidt's house when he was arrested, authorities said, and Schmidt admitted to keeping five of the 20 pounds of the marijuana shipment he received by mistake.

Schmidt remains free from jail in lieu of $10,000 bail.

He is due back in court May 21 for a case management conference. His trial is tentatively scheduled for June 16.

Authorities said they later discovered who was supposed to receive the drug shipment and arrested three men.

Anelit Chavez-Morales, 25, Gabriel Orozco-Rivera, 38, and Joel Aguilar-Alberto, 41 - all of the 800 block of Park in Round Lake - face charges of unlawful possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and calculated drug conspiracy.

Cops: Pot delivery to wrong Round Lake Park home leads to arrests

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