Jan. 27 trial set in 2-ton marijuana seizure near Peru

A California man charged with hauling 2 tons of purported marijuana (his lawyer said it was hemp) will stand trial Jan. 27.

Cesar D. Jimenez-Preciado, 53, of West Covina appeared Thursday in La Salle County Circuit Court and entered a not-guilty plea to cannabis trafficking. Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. then issued a 2025 trial date, with a motions hearing set for Jan. 16.

Jimenez-Preciado faces 12 to 60 years in prison if convicted of hauling an estimated 4,250 pounds of cannabis found inside a rental truck stopped on Interstate 80 near Peru. Prosecutors computed the weight estimate based on the testing of one of the 50-pound bags, of which there were 85 in all.

Coal City defense attorney Jordan Kielian said at a previous hearing that Jimenez-Preciado was hauling hemp, which is legal in Illinois, although it would have field-tested positive for cannabis.

Dispositive lab tests are pending, but Jimenez-Preciado was released from the La Salle County Jail. The judge granted him pretrial release with GPS monitoring.