Two men were charged after officers found them with a handgun and marijuana during a traffic stop Friday night in north suburban Evanston.
About 10:15 p.m.. an officer saw a silver Chrysler van speeding southbound on Dodge Avenue near Lee Street, according to Evanston police. After pulling the Dodge over, the officer smelled “an odor of cannabis” coming from the van and requested a canine unit to conduct a search.
During the search, officers found a black backpack with seven grams of marijuana flower and 127 grams of cannabis oil, police said. They also uncovered a gray backpack that contained a loaded Glock 19 handgun, a trace amount of suspected cannabis and $2,500 in cash.
The Dodge’s driver, 36-year-old Christopher K. Cobbs, and passenger, 36-year-old Willie A. Watkins, were then taken into custody, police said.
During subsequent interviews, Cobbs told investigators that the black backpack and the marijuana were his, and Watkins said the gray backpack and its contents belonged to him, police said.
Cobbs, of Evanston, was charged with a felony count of marijuana possession and was cited for speeding, police said. Watkins, of Berkeley, was charged with a felony count of unlawful use of a weapon.
