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A Chicago Ridge man was denied pretrial release Monday after being charged with four Class X felony drug offenses, alleging he was selling “cocaine laced with fentanyl,” prosecutors say.
Jorge Barajas, 43, was charged last week with two counts of possession and possession with intent to deliver 15 to 100 grams of cocaine, as well as two counts of possession and possession with intent to deliver 15 to 100 grams of fentanyl, according to the complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court.
The complaint alleges Barajas committed the crimes in May, and a warrant for his arrest was served Monday, according to court records. The same day, Judge Carl Metz ordered Barajas to be detained in McHenry County jail while he awaits trial.
Assistant State’s Attorney Zachariah Sitkiewicz asked the court to deny pretrial release to Barajas, saying he is a “real and present threat” to the community. Prosecutors said that Barajas sold over 25 grams of “cocaine laced with fentanyl” on two separate occasions and that the drugs had a “likelihood of causing overdose or death.”
A preliminary hearing for Barajas, whose address in some records is listed in Berwyn, is scheduled for Feb. 21 in front of Judge Tiffany Davis, court records show.