Evanston police say a traffic officer stopped a car doing 40 in a 25 mile-per-hour zone on Dodge Avenue near Lee Street about 10:15 Friday night and ended up recovering a handgun.
Cmdr. Ryan Glew says the officer noticed an odor of cannabis coming from inside the car and requested assistance from the K-9 unit. The subsequent search, Glew says, led to recovery of a black backpack containing seven grams of a green leafy substance suspected to be cannabis and 127 grams of cannabis oil as well as a grey backpack that contained $2,500 in cash, a trace amount of suspect cannabis, and a loaded Glock 19 9mm handgun.
Glew says the car’s driver, Christopher K. Cobbs, 36, of the 700 block of Austin Street in Evanston, admitted to possessing the black backpack and the cannabis it contained.
A passenger, Willie A. Watkins, 36, of the 5700 block of Rose Court in Berkley, admitted to possessing the gray backpack and its contents, including the handgun, Glew said.
Cobbs was cited for speeding and charged with felony possession of cannabis. Watkins was charged with felony unlawful possession of a handgun.