Chicago police seized marijuana valued at over $1 million after stopping an East Garfield Park man in his car Saturday evening on the Northwest Side, authorities said.
Officers tried to stop James Hargrett in the Galewood neighborhood around 7:15 p.m. after seeing him fail to use a turn signal after exiting an alley in the 1700 block of North Moody Avenue, according to a police report.
But Hargrett, 37, continued north on Moody, blew another stop sign and again failed to use his turn signal before he jumped out of the 2007 GM Denali and ran off, with the car still in reverse. An officer got in the vehicle and placed it in park, according to an arrest report. It was then that he noticed several garbage bags behind the front seats.
Soon after, officers apprehended Hargrett when they noticed him hiding under a porch in the 1800 block of North Mobile Avenue.
Police said they found about 386 pounds of marijuana inside Hargrett's vehicle. The estimated street value of that amount is more than $1 million, according to a release from Chicago Police News Affairs.
Hargrett, of the 2900 block of West Adams Street, was charged with felony possession of more than 5,000 grams of cannabis and misdemeanor having an uninsured motor vehicle. He was also cited for failing to stop at a stop sign, disobeying a turn signal indicator, and failing to carry or display a driver's license or permit, the statement said.
Hargrett has previous felony convictions, including in two felony weapons cases from 1998 and 1999 for which he was sentenced to six years in prison, according to court records.
In 2003, Hargrett was hit with felony weapons charges again after his mother, Chicago Police Officer Roberto Jackson, was fatally wounded when Hargrett shot himself in what authorities described as a suicide attempt as his mother tried to stop him by holding him in a bear hug. The shooting took place in the 1600 block of North Mobile Avenue, just two blocks south of where Hargrett was arrested Saturday night. Hargrett was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 2005, according to court records.
Hargrett was ordered held in lieu of $30,000 bail in a hearing midday Sunday in Cook County Bond Court. He is scheduled to appear in court again Feb. 13.
Earlier versions of this story misspelled Hargrett's name as Hargett.