Officer watches drug deal, makes arrests

Two men authorities said conducted a drug deal in front of a police officer sitting in his squad car were ordered held on $5,000 bond Saturday.

Park City resident Jose Rodriguez-Gallardo, 29, of and Juan Anaya-Juarez, 23, of Waukegan, appeared before Lake County Associate Judge Raymond Collins.

Assistant State's Attorney Jason Humke said a Waukegan police officer was sitting in a parking lot on Washington Street at about 4 a.m. Saturday.

The officer was looking through the windshield of the car when he saw Anaya-Juarez walk up to Rodriguez-Gallardo and hand him some folded money, Humke said.

Humke said the astonished officer watched as Rodriguez-Gallardo reached into his pocket and handed Anaya-Juarez a small package.

"The officer told me he could not believe they were doing it right in front of him," Humke said. "At the same time, he said he was pretty sure the one guy had not just sold the other guy a snowblower, so he went over to check it out."

Anaya-Juarez consented to a search, Humke said, and the officer found a plastic bag with about 3 grams of cocaine in his back pocket.

Rodriguez-Gallardo began to walk away, Humke said, but the officer asked him to stay and discovered two other small packages of cocaine and $400 in his pocket.

Rodiguez-Gallardo, of the 3400 block of Elaine Avenue in Park City, is charged with delivery of cocaine and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.

Anaya-Juarez, of the 900 block of Washington Street in Waukegan, faces a possible three-year prison sentence if convicted of possession of cocaine.

Both men are scheduled to appear in court again Nov. 10.