Sanford J. Schmidt, sschmidt@thetelegraph.com

Published

4:42 pm PDT, Tuesday, September 1, 2020

EDWARDSVILLE — A California man has been arrested for allegedly having 350 pounds of marijuana in his car.

The marijuana was found during an Aug. 26 traffic stop by Illinois State Police on Interstate 255 in Troy of Kenneth R. Grossman, 66, of San Diego. He has been charged with Class X marijuana trafficking and unlawful possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.

Bail was originally set at $200,000 but Grossman’s attorney, Jim Stern, argued at a bond reduction hearing that his client had no prior criminal history, had a family in California and was not a flight risk. Stern said Grossman is an information technology assistant at risk for COVID-19 because of his age and medical problems. Stern said people such as Grossman are often used by drug dealers to deliver marijuana without being aware of what they are doing.

Assistant Madison County State’s Attorney Tara Steele said there was evidence from Grossman’s cell phone indicating this was not his first delivery. She noted he has one prior charge.

Associate Judge Neil Schroeder agreed to reduce Grossman’s bail from $200,000 to $100,000. According to state law, Grossman must post $10,000 cash to go free until his trial date. He must also offer evidence that the money posted is not from the proceeds of the drug trade.