A Texas man made his first formal court appearance Wednesday on marijuana trafficking charges stemming from a Friday traffic stop on I-90 near Elgin, according to court records.
Daniel Cuellar, 32, remains in Kane County Jail on $100,000 bail accused of trafficking marijuana, as well as possession of cannabis and manufacturing/delivering the drug. Prosecutors turned over documents in the case to Cuellar’s public defender during a Wednesday hearing. Cuellar is scheduled to return to court May 5.
A Kane County sheriff’s deputy stopped Cuellar for minor traffic violations on the tollway near Route 31 Friday morning when the deputy noticed the smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office. A search of the vehicle turned up two bags containing nearly 26 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of $200,000.
Court records from Hidalgo County — in the far southern tip of Texas along the Mexico border — show a history of arrests and prison time for Cuellar since 2000, several of them relating to drugs. Cuellar has been charged with misdemeanor drug possession seven times — six involving marijuana and once with a controlled substance — and, in 2013, he was accused of felony marijuana possession of up to five pounds in a drug-free zone. Earlier this year he was charged with possession of a weapon by a felon, records show.
Cuellar’s most recent problems with the law followed a handwritten letter he sent to a Texas judge overseeing one of his cases in 2014, records show.
“I’m ready to do better in life no more smoking marijuana for me,” Cuellar wrote.
Dan Campana is a freelance reporter.