Cokehead Nailed for Bringing Blow to Court

Photo: Kane County Sheriff's Office

An Illinois man recently went to court for a hearing over a cocaine charge and forgot to leave his cocaine at home.

Alex Robinson got in line with the rest of the folks when the doors of Kane County courthouse opened around 8:30 a.m.on Sept. 29.

Robinson was told to appear for allegedly violating his probation on a cocaine delivery charge in 2006.

When the metal detector sounded, security guards asked Robinson to remove anything from his pockets that might have set the alarm off. He emptied his pockets into the plastic tray, including a baggie containing three grams of coke. He tried to leave, but was arrested and charged with felony possession of a controlled substance.

Besides buying himself an entry in the growing encyclopedia of dumb criminals, Robinson also earned more trouble with the law.

First of all, when you walk into a courthouse, you give up your right to hide illegal stuff in your pocket.

If the metal detectors don’t give you a hint, then the signs that tell you that you may be searched should serve as a heads-up.

Attorney Scot Candell

Because Robinson had only a small amount of cocaine on him, his new drug charge will be for simple possession, rather than for selling, according to Scot Candell, a criminal defense attorney in San Rafael, Calif.

However, the new drug charge will complicate his defense in the original probation violation.

“With the new case, it makes his hand a lot worse when it comes to bargaining,” Candell said.

Robinson already served 180 days in county jail and got two years’ probation on the original 2006 drug charge. Last year, he was re-arrested for violating his probation.

Most likely, the probation violation and the new charge will be packaged together in one consolidated deal, and Robinson will have to plead to a higher penalty in exchange for prosecutors dropping the new charge, Candell said.

“Instead of one year in local jail, he might get two years in state prison,” depending on Illinois law, Candell suggested.

Candell, who handles a lot of drug cases, said he’s surprised every day by the wacky things people do.

“The lack of foresight – maybe he could have thought to leave the cocaine in the car – is mind-boggling. Then again, if he’s using cocaine, he’s probably not thinking clearly,” Candell said.