Investigators arrested a 27-year-old Hampshire man last month on drug charges after a string of suspicious packages sent to his home prompted a search, according to court records.
Agents from the Illinois State Police and North Central Narcotics Task Force conducted the search after an undercover agent delivered a cardboard box which was sent from California and accepted at the home of Brent Hutchinson in June. Inside the box: 10 pounds of pot in foil and vacuum-sealed bags, court documents show.
Hutchinson is free on $10,000 bail, charged with cannabis trafficking, possession of cannabis, and manufacturing and delivery of marijuana. He is scheduled to return to court Wednesday.
According to a search warrant affidavit filed in the case, authorities began to investigate in May after being alerted to a suspicious 25-pound package sent overnight from Northern California at a cost of $150 to Hutchinson’s address on Centennial Drive. Police did a “trash pull” a few days later which turned up marijuana remnants, among other items, according to the affidavit.
Investigators soon learned that a similar package weighing 40 pounds was delivered to Hutchinson’s home in April.
In securing the search warrant, investigators arranged to have an undercover officer pose as a delivery person for the June 8 package, and once someone at the home accepted it, they would conduct the search, records show.
The box itself contained blankets, pillows and clothes as well as 10 bags of marijuana. Inside the home, police found a smaller amount of loose marijuana and 54 “purple pills,” as well as drug paraphernalia, documents show.
Dan Campana is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.