Boystown: Open car door leads to felony charges…and impoundment of the car

Jashawn “You can close it” Burke (left) and Trenton Hunt. | Chicago Police Dept; Wikicommons
In retrospect, maybe it would’ve been a lot easier to just close the car door.

Police on patrol in Boystown around 11:30 last Saturday morning said they saw a car sitting in the 800 block of West Newport with the driver’s side door open in traffic and people standing around. Officers circled the block and approached the car because its door was still open in the traffic lane, according to their report.

Having your car door open into traffic is illegal, they informed 19-year-old Jashawn Burke of Evanston.

“Oh,” Burke allegedly said, “You can close it.”

An officer approached the door and saw two clear baggies containing several smaller bags of suspected cannabis in the door pocket, prosecutors said. A custodial search of Burke turned up a pint of Hennessey tucked into his waistband and another plastic bag of suspect marijuana in his pants pocket, according to police.

Prosecutors said a search of the car revealed four more bags of “green, leafy substance” in the back seat near where 18-year-old Trenton Hunt of Skokie was standing. A box of plastic bags, a scale, scissors, and a fake $100 bill were also recovered, according to a police report.

Altogether, 142 grams of suspected marijuana—about a third of a pound— with a street value of $852 was recovered, police said.

Burke, who reportedly invited the police to close his vehicle door, is charged with felony manufacture-delivery of cannabis; being a minor in possession of alcohol; and obstruction of traffic by a motorist. His car was impounded.

Hunt is charged with manufacture-delivery of cannabis.

Both men were released on recognizance bonds by Judge Stephanie Miller.

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About CWBChicago 4360 Articles
CWBChicago was created in 2013 by five residents of Wrigleyville and Boystown who had grown disheartened with inaccurate information that was being provided at local Community Policing (CAPS) meetings. Our coverage area has expanded since then to cover Lincoln Park, River North, The Loop, Uptown, and other North Side Areas. But our mission remains unchanged: To provide original public safety reporting with better context and greater detail than mainstream media outlets.