West Chicago man, facing drug and weapon charges, held on $500,000 bail

A West Chicago man accused of possessing large quantities of illegal narcotics and marijuana is being held on $500,000 bail in DuPage County.

Jason Gray, 40, of the 800 block of Burr Oaks Drive, has been charged with two counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver cannabis, and unauthorized use of a weapon by a felon.

DuPage County Judge Jeffrey Mackay, after setting bail, also granted the prosecutor's motion for a proof of funds hearing at which Gray will have to prove that any money used toward his bail was not illegally obtained.

Police executed a search warrant at Gray's home on Thursday and found a .45 caliber handgun sitting on a safe inside the closet of his bedroom. Prosecutors say the safe contained roughly 462 grams of cocaine, about 26.1 grams of fentanyl and approximately 89.9 grams of mushrooms.

A duffle bag found in the closet near the safe is alleged to have contained roughly 2,930 grams of cannabis.

"In 2018, DuPage County suffered 98 opioid deaths," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a written statement. "Of those deaths, two-thirds were fentany-related and 26.1 grams of fentanyl is an extremely large amount capable of causing countless deaths."

If convicted, Gray faces 12 to 50 years in prison. He is next due in court May 2.