Man charged with marijuana possession outside Palatine YMCA

A 19-year-old Palatine man was arrested by police Friday after he admitted he was attempting to sell marijuana in the YMCA parking lot.

Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Moe Ahmad said a Palatine police officer on patrol about 9 p.m. noticed Steven Penfold acting strange in the parking lot at 950 N. Countryside Drive.

When the officer went to investigate, Ahmad said, Penfold couldn’t properly explain his presence at the YMCA to the officer. The officer asked Penfold to remove his hands from his pants pockets and that’s when a bag of marijuana fell to the ground, Ahmad told Judge Samuel Betar III at the Palatine man’s Saturday bond court appearance.

Ahmad said Penfold eventually told police he was at the parking lot to sell drugs.

Betar set Penfold’s bail at $1,000 on a charge of unlawful possession of cannabis and he was released later Saturday morning after posting the required 10 percent bond. His next court date is scheduled for March 29.