Des Plaines pool hall manager charged with possession

Editor's note: The charges against Carlos D. Kurtjian were dismissed.

The manager of a Des Plaines pool hall will face drug possession and gun possession charges Feb. 19 at the Rolling Meadows courthouse, police said.

Des Plaines police arrested Carlos D. Kurtjian, 31, of the 500 block of East Home Avenue in Palatine, around 1:40 a.m. Jan. 1 at MGM Billiards, 647 Wolf Road.

Kurtjian was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana, and unlawful use of a weapon.

Police got a call about a fight at the pool hall and when they arrived Kurtjian met them outside. By that time, the offenders had apparently fled but victims were still inside the facility, Des Plaines Deputy Police Chief Angela Burton said.

"It sounds like by the time the police got there everybody scattered," Burton said.

As officers checked out the pool hall, they smelled a strong odor of cannabis from the hallway and followed the scent to find prescription pain medication and marijuana on a desk in Kurtjian's office, Burton said.

Police noticed a safe on the ground that was open with a gun in plain view, she said. Kurtjian did not show officers a Firearm Owner Identification card for the 9 mm handgun and ammunition.

Police also found two glass drug pipes.

Kurtjian's hearing, originally scheduled for Thursday, was continued to 9 a.m. Feb. 19 in Room 106 of the Rolling Meadows courthouse.