Police: Beach Park man charged after traffic stop yields 8 pounds of pot, $143K in cash

A 24-year-old Beach Park man is in custody after a traffic stop in Antioch early Wednesday yielded about eight pounds of cannabis and $143,337 in cash, police said.

Kewan Hampton was charged with possession of cannabis and possession with intent to distribute, and he could face additional felony charges after officers found 20 unknown pills, police said.

Hampton was being held in the Lake County jail on $250,000 bond late Wednesday afternoon; he would have to post $25,000 to be released while his case is pending.

According to Antioch police, Hampton was alone in the vehicle and was stopped while driving about 1:30 a.m. on the 1100 block of Main Street (Route 83), north of Route 173.

Police said that, during a search of the vehicle, officers found pills stamped with markings similar to Xanax, and they were sent to a lab for analysis.

Hampton was charged with unlawful possession of cannabis and possession with the intent to distribute, both felonies. Police said the currency and vehicle are pending asset forfeiture proceedings.

Police Chief Geoffrey Guttschow said the arrest will have an impact on community safety.

"Any interruption we can make in the organized drug community is a win for Antioch and the greater Lake County area," he said in a news release. The amount of the haul "indicates this was part of a larger operation," he added.

He said the arrest was the result of proactive police work by the department's midnight shift and thanked the Lake County Sheriff's Office for its assistance with its police dog unit.