Two University of Wisconsin students arrested Sunday night in Chicago have now been charged with felony possession of cannabis after officers uncovered 170 pounds of marijuana plants in an apartment.
UW students Aaron Sayad and Eric Sheinkop, both 21 years old, were among five students and a Navy Pier worker who were arrested Sunday.
Chicago Police Central District officers were acting on an anonymous tip when they went to the apartment, located at 2 E. 8th on Printers Row in the South Loop. At around 7 p.m. officers knocked on the door, telling suspects they were with building security.
“Once you got off the elevator you could smell it. Every available surface was covered with plants,” said Tactical Officer Jeannette O’Brien, according to the Chicago Sun Times.
“They put an air freshener near the front door; like that would do any good. They turned up the heat to 100 [degrees] to dry the plants out,” O’Brien said.
Also charged with felony drug possession are Justin Damion, a 21-year-old Columbia College student who rented the apartment; Blake Edwards, 20, a Wright College student; Andrew Tinich, 21, also a student; and Matthew Wilson, 20, a Navy Pier clerk.
According to the Sun Times, Damion and Sayad told investigators they drove the pot from a Wisconsin field to Chicago in Sayad’s car.
“We investigate every call we get on suspicion of narcotic sales,” said Sgt. Edward Alonzo, Supervisor of Media Relations for Chicago Police.
Alonzo said Sayad and Sheinkop will have their first court hearing Nov. 5.
Police estimate the pot had a street value of $462,000.
