Man denies forgery, drug charges

A Waukegan man police say was caught with four pounds of marijuana after he was arrested for trying to ship a box full of counterfeit money to Arizona pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Lake County Circuit Court.

Mateo Ambriz-Lopez, 23, is charged with possession of marijuana with the intent to deliver and forgery.

Assistant State's Attorney Rod Drobinski said a shipping company in Waukegan called police March 13 after employees found $7,250 in counterfeit $50 bills and a small amount of marijuana in a package.

Records showed Ambriz-Lopez had dropped off the package, so police had the shipper call him and tell him he had neglected to fill out a form.

When Ambriz-Lopez returned to fill out the form, Drobinski said, police took him into custody and went to search his house in the 1300 block of Judge Place.

Police found a box identical to the one Ambriz-Lopez had left at the shipping company and discovered it contained four pounds of marijuana.

Police said Ambriz-Lopez told them he had been paid $1,600 in real money to mail the counterfeit money, and that he had been mailed the marijuana a few days before.

Circuit Judge Victoria Rossetti told Ambriz-Lopez he faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the possession of marijuana charges, and another three years if convicted of forgery.

She scheduled a trial of the case for June 11 and ordered Ambriz-Lopez to appear in court April 21.

Ambriz-Lopez is held on $300,000 bond, but Drobinski said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have placed a hold on him and he is ineligible for release from jail under any circumstances.