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Schaumburg man held on $1.25 million bail on drug charges

A 25-year-old Schaumburg man awaiting trial on aggravated battery and drug possession charges was ordered held on $1.25 million bail Tuesday in a new case.

John Abel Jr. was charged with drug possession, possession with intent to deliver, armed violence and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. His girlfriend, Nicole Morris, 22, of Hoffman Estates, was charged with possession, possession with intent to deliver and armed violence. She was ordered held on $200,000 bail. Among the items police said they recovered was a 9 mm firearm loaded with a 30-round magazine, which prosecutors say was found in the couple's bedroom where their 6-month-old child slept.

Members of the Illinois State Police narcotics task force also recovered 108 grams of cocaine with a street value of $10,080; 6.6 pounds of marijuana with a street value of more than $59,000, $13,000 in cash, a 50-round magazine, packaging materials, scales, ledgers and a cutting agent used for cocaine, said Cook County assistant state's attorney Maureen McGee.

The cutting agent was found in a kitchen cabinet in a Similac baby formula container that read "do not feed to baby," McGee said.

Authorities contacted the Department of Children and Family Services, but prosecutors could not say whether the infant has been placed in the care of the agency.

Abel was among more than 20 people whose charges prosecutors dismissed in 2013 following a scandal involving three former undercover Schaumburg police officers charged with selling drugs. With the officers' credibility in question, prosecutors were unable to sustain their burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. As a result, they dismissed charges against certain defendants.

Abel's background includes a five-year prison sentence with a boot camp recommendation for his guilty plea to a 2009 aggravated robbery. He has a pending aggravated battery and hate crime case from February 2014, when he was accused of striking a fast food worker more than 20 times, McGee said. He was charged in August 2014 with intent to sell ecstasy and marijuana, McGee said.

The judge presiding over those cases increased his bail a total of $150,000, McGee said. If convicted of all the charges, Abel faces a minimum of 30 years in prison. Morris, who has a 2011 conviction for possessing drug paraphernalia, faces a minimum of 24 years in prison if convicted of all charges.

They next appear in court on Nov. 25.

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