Traffic stop leads to Streamwood teen's arrest on drug, weapons charges

A Streamwood teen was charged with possessing a loaded handgun and illegal drugs after a traffic stop Thursday.

Bail was set at $75,000 for Marco Rodriguez, 18, who prosecutors say was sitting in the passenger's seat of a vehicle stopped for a traffic violation.

He's charged with armed violence, possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. The most serious charges carry maximum sentences of up to 30 years in prison.

Officers smelled marijuana and noticed a black backpack at Rodriguez's feet, said Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Loukas Kalliantasis. Inside the backpack, officers found 40 tabs of LSD, 18 MDMA pills, cocaine, Xanax and marijuana and a handgun containing three rounds, one of them in the chamber, Kalliantasis said.

According to Kalliantasis, Rodriguez told authorities he found the gun under a dumpster at a grocery store and uses it "for protection if he gets ripped off dealing narcotics."

He next appears in court Feb. 6.