Cops: Aurora man checks in cocaine at courthouse
By Matt Hanley mhanley@stmedianetwork.com October 1, 2012 2:58PM
Alex Robinson, charged with felony possession of a controlled substance
Updated: October 1, 2012 7:23PM
An Aurora man is facing felony drug charges after he allegedly dropped a plastic bag of cocaine into a security check bin at the Kane County Courthouse.
Alex Robinson, 37, of the 700 block of Charles Street, is charged with felony possession of a controlled substance.
According to Kane County Sheriff’s Lt. Pat Gengler, Robinson was in the security check line at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at the main criminal courthouse, 37W777 Route 38, St. Charles Township.
The line at the courthouse typically winds back and forth as visitors walk through a metal detector and put personal items into bins that are scanned, similar to a security checkpoint at an airport. Visitors typically drop coins, keys, purses and laptops into the bins.
While the lines move quickly, Wednesdays mornings are often a crowded time at the courthouse and it probably would have taken several minutes for Robinson to get to the front of the line.
According to Gengler, when Robinson walked through the metal detector, the alarm sounded. Security guards asked Robinson to step back and make sure there was nothing in his pockets that might be setting off the detector. Gengler said at that point, Robinson emptied his pockets and dropped a bag with 3 grams of cocaine into the tray to be scanned.
“I don’t know how you forget,” Gengler said. “It’s not like you don’t know there’s a checkpoint coming up.”
Robinson tried to leave, but he was arrested at the courthouse, Gengler said.
Robinson was scheduled to be in court last Wednesday on a probation violation from a 2006 cocaine delivery charge. According to court records, Robinson was charged with delivery of cocaine in 2006 and aggravated battery in 2008. In the battery case, Robinson was accused of hitting a 51-year-old Aurora man in the head with a baseball bat during a cookout, police said.
Robinson pleaded guilty to aggravated battery and possession of a controlled substance in 2009. He was sentenced to 180 days in the county jail and two years probation. In 2011, he was re-arrested for violating his probation in those cases. A status hearing on his probation violation was scheduled for Kane County court Wednesday.
Robinson has a long criminal history in Kane County. He was charged with felonies mob action and burglary in 1992, according to court records. He was charged with possession of a controlled substance in 1993, delivery of cocaine in 1997, and misdemeanor marijuana possession in 1998. In 2002, he was charged with felony aggravated fleeing police.
Robinson is scheduled to be in court on his most recent charges this Wednesday. Robinson also has several pending court dates for traffic tickets and a child custody case, according to court records.
