Traffic stop leads to drug arrest of Wheeling man

A 31-year-old Wheeling man was ordered held on $100,000 bail Friday on charges of possession, manufacture and delivery of marijuana.

If convicted of the most serious charge, Jamie Alvarado, who prosecutors say also lists a Highwood address, faces up to seven years in prison.

Wheeling police stopped Alvarado for a traffic violation about 2:44 a.m. Friday as he drove west on Dundee Road near Elmhurst Road, said Cook County assistant state's attorney David Mennie.

Police charged him with driving on a suspended license, Mennie said. They subsequently recovered a large, plastic garbage bag containing smaller plastic bags filled with a total of 1,621 grams of marijuana, Mennie said. Police recovered another bag with about $50,000 in cash in various denominations, Mennie said.

Alvarado's background includes misdemeanor convictions for DUI, reckless driving, battery and marijuana possession, Mennie said.

Alvarado next appears in court on Feb. 26.