The first day of the month was a pretty bad one for David Gomez. Sheriff’s deputies went to his Chicago apartment to evict him. Then they found $78,000 worth of drugs while moving him out, prosecutors said Thursday.
“Did I hear that correctly?” Judge Charles Beach asked Assistant State’s Attorney Sean Kelly after hearing the allegations against Gomez. “The sheriff’s office was there to evict Mr. Gomez from his apartment?”
“Yes,” Kelly confirmed.
“And he had approximately $78,000 worth of psilocybin and marijuana?”
“Uh, yes, judge,” said Kelly. “The irony is not lost on me.”
“I’m confused by that as well,” Beach admitted.
Earlier in the hearing, Kelly told the judge that sheriff’s officers found 21,000 grams — that’s about 46 pounds — of chocolate infused with psilocybin, the psychedelic chemical found in “magic mushrooms,” while clearing out Gomez’s bedroom.
The sheriff’s eviction team also found about four pounds of marijuana worth $36,000 in Gomez’s refrigerator freezer, Kelly said.
Also allegedly recovered were three digital scales, small Ziploc baggies, and a suspected ledger of drug sales and purchases.
Prosecutors charged Gomez with possession of psilocybin and possession of cannabis.
Assistant Public Defender Suzin Farber said Gomez is 31 and lived with a roommate “at the eviction site.” He works full time for a realty office, she said.
“According to my interview sheet,” Farber added, “my client has no money for bond.”
“Yet another piece of irony,” Beach replied.
The judge set Gomez’s bail at $10,000, meaning Gomez needs to pay a $1,000 deposit to get out of jail.
Contrary to the notes given to his attorney, Gomez told Beach he could raise the $1,000. As of Friday morning, though, Gomez remained in Cook County jail.