At left is heroin confiscated Dec. 6 following a Mair Street traffic stop. At right is cocaine confiscated after the Dec. 3 traffic stop in the area of State Street and North Avenue in Aurora. (CREDIT Aurora Police Department)

Two recent traffic stops by Aurora police have resulted in the seizure of heroin, cocaine and marijuana with a street value of more than $53,000.

The latest stop occurred around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, when a vehicle driven by Ado D. Autman, 28, of the 1300 block of Pioneer Road in Crest Hill was stopped after pulling out in front of an Aurora police patrol officer at Fox Pointe and Mair Drives.

Ado D. Autman

Upon investigation, officers learned that Autman was driving on a revoked license and also did not have proof of insurance. When his 2015 Jeep Cherokee was inventoried subsequent to Autman’s arrest, a backpack allegedly containing more than 10.5 ounces (300 grams) of heroin, more than 3.5 ounces of cocaine (100 grams), and 1 pound of cannabis were found.

The narcotics have a street value of around $50,000, Aurora police said.

In addition, police found $1,885 cash in Autman’s his front pockets.

The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office authorized two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and a single count of unlawful possession of cannabis with intent to deliver.

The controlled substance charges are Class X felonies and call for enhanced penalties if Autman is convicted. Autman posted the required 10 percent of his $90,000 bail and was released from Aurora police custody.

Three days earlier, police seized an ounce of cocaine (about 29 grams) with a street value of $3,000 and $421 in cash after a traffic stop in the area of State Street and North Avenue. The stop took place at around 11:05 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3

Steve A. Suarez

Charged with single counts of manufacturing or delivery of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of a controlled substance through the Kane County State’s Attorney was Steve A. Suarez, 40, of the 600 block of Woodlawn Avenue, Aurora. The manufacturing or delivery charge is likewise a Class-X felony.

Police said Suarez was a passenger in a 1997 Ford Expedition driven by a 43-year-old Ottawa man who reportedly failed to use his turn signal at Fourth Avenue and State Street.

Special operations investigators curbed the vehicle and, as they approached, spotted open beer in plain view in the back seat. When Suarez went to produce his identification as requested by the officers, police said he pulled a bag containing the cocaine out of one of his jacket pockets. His attempt to conceal the narcotics by closing his hand around it failed, as one of the officers had already spotted the bag. He was taken into custody without incident.

Suarez was already on parole for drug charges, police said, so a new warrant was issued by the Illinois Department of Corrections stemming from the latest felonies. He is being held in lieu of $150,000 bail at the Kane County Correctional Center in St. Charles.

The driver of the vehicle was ticketed for failure to signal and verbally warned about the vehicle’s excessively loud exhaust. A rear-seat passenger, a 36-year-old Aurora man, was charged with illegal transportation of alcohol after a beer was found in one of his jacket pockets. One other passenger, a 40-year-old Ottawa man, was not charged.

The charges against Autman and Suarez are not proof of guilt. They are presumed innocent and are entitled to fair trials in which it is the state’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

SOURCE: Aurora Police Department news release