California man facing La Salle County drug charges rearrested after a year on the lam

Police seized 11 pounds of horse tranquilizer in a Peru traffic stop. The driver was granted home confinement. The next day, his ankle bracelet was found cut off.

It took a year to find him, but Teren Overbeck is back in custody – and this time prosecutors want him held in La Salle County Jail while awaiting trial.

Overbeck, 35, of Los Angeles, California appeared Wednesday in La Salle County Circuit Court, where he was presented with a petition to revoke his pre-trial release.

Whether Overbeck stays locked up could be settled next week. Overbeck advised Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. he wants time to seek private counsel before addressing the issue of detention. Ryan agreed and scheduled a May 1 hearing.

Overbeck was charged April 4, 2024, after La Salle County sheriff’s deputies seized 5 kilograms of ketamine, 14.1 ounces of cannabis oil and $5,363 in cash. He was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance of a controlled substance, a Class X felony carrying six to 30 years in prison with no possibility of probation.

According to court records, Overbeck told police, “This is how I pay my bills. Everyone has to eat.”

Despite the statement and size of the seizure, Overbeck was deemed eligible for pre-trial release under the SAFE-T Act, which eliminated cash bonds and limited the courts’ ability to hold drug suspects.

The day after his release, however, police found the ankle bracelet but no sign of Overbeck. Court records indicated the device had been cut. Prosecutors then filed a second count of escape, a Class 3 felony carrying two to five years.

A warrant was issued and Overbeck was at large for a year. He was booked into La Salle County Jail on Tuesday evening. Court records listed him as residing in or captured in Des Moines, Iowa and returned to La Salle County via inmate transfer company.