Bail set for three suspects in Elgin marijuana network
A Kane County Judge set bail Friday at $20,000 for each of the three suspects police say were involved in a vast and highly sophisticated indoor pot growing operation, a network that spanned four houses on Elgin's near west side.
Moreover, Friday morning's bond hearing revealed a bit more information about the case that police say was two months in the making.
Louis R. Lomber, 62, of the 300 block of Orange Street, Elgin, was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and possession of marijuana.
Mary T. Friedley, 58, of the same address, was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, two counts of production of marijuana plants and one count of marijuana possession.
Their shared attorney said they have three children.
As well, Christopher Olsen, 35, of the 600 block of McClure Avenue, Elgin, was charged with production of marijuana plants.
Prosecutors said Lomber and Friedley had no criminal record to speak of. And aside from a 1992 disorderly conduct conviction and several traffic offenses, Olsen's has no record, prosecutors said.
Between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, police searched four houses, seizing roughly 550 marijuana plants in various stages of growth, a .32-caliber pistol with 50 rounds of ammunition and between $50,000 and $60,000 in specialized equipment used to grow the plants, police said.
Police conducted three searches after a two-month investigation and searched the fourth house after getting permission from the residents, Sgt. Jim Lullo said.
Police said the operation made between $20,000 and $30,000 a month and had been going on for more than a year.
Reading from a police synopsis Friday, Kane County Judge Bruce Lester said Olsen is accused of producing more than 50 marijuana plants in the 600 block of McClure Avenue.
Lullo said officers arrested Olsen on the spot after he returned to the house while police were still searching it.
Police stopped Lomber and Friedley in a car at 5 p.m. Wednesday that was pulling away from one of the drug houses in the 200 block of South Aldine Avenue, authorities said.
According to a police synopsis, Lomber, the passenger in the car, put a bag of marijuana in the trunk before Friedley drove off.
Police followed the car to the 200 block of South Melrose Avenue - near another drug house - and pulled it over with both suspects inside, Lester read.
A subsequent search found 1,696 grams of processed marijuana in the trunk with a street value of $20,000, Lester said.
Charging documents say Friedley produced more than 50 marijuana plants in the 200 block of South Aldine Avenue and in the 200 block of South Melrose Avenue.
Police have said the indoor operation was unprecedented, both in the number of plants and the number of houses involved - the fourth house was in the 0-99 block of South Alfred Avenue.
The city has since red-tagged two houses - one on Aldine Avenue and the other on Melrose Avenue - deeming them uninhabitable, Lullo said.
Meanwhile, all three suspects are due in court Oct. 1 at the Kane County Judicial Center.
The most serious charges they trio face are Class 2 felonies. If found guilty of one, they could spend between three to seven years behind bars.
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<li><a href="/story/?id=408694">Elgin cops uncover 'sophisticated' pot operation, arrest 3<span class="date"> [9/16/10]</span></a></li>
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