UPDATE: No Formal Possession Charges in Heroin Overdose Traffic Stop Case

Updated: 3:52 p.m. Thursday

The Will County State's Attorney on Jan. 7 declined to file formal possession charges against Michael S. Matela, of Frankfort, after Mokena police performed a traffic stop on the car he was driving and discovered a man suffering from a heroin overdose in the car’s passenger seat.

Formal charges for improper lane usage were filed against Matela.

Matela was booked into Will County Jail on Jan. 4, pending formal charges for possession of a controlled substance, cannabis possession and paraphernalia possession. 

He appeared in Will County Circuit Court on Jan. 17, where he received a sentence of $185 in fines and three months supervision for improper traffic lane use.

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A Frankfort man faces felony drug charges after he was pulled over by the police while a passenger overdosed in his car, police reports state.

Michael S. Matela, 20, of the 22600 block of Limestone Court in Frankfort, is charged with possession of a controlled substance, a felony. He is also charged with misdemeanor cannabis and paraphernalia possession, as well as improper lane usage.

A Mokena police officer performed a traffic stop when he noticed Matela’s car swerving in and out of the left lane and crossing the lane marker at 6:13 p.m. on Jan. 4 near 191st Street and Everett Boulevard.

When the officer approached the car, he saw an unconscious man slumped down in the front passenger seat. Matela and a second passenger, Amanda N. Miller, 19, of the 700 block of S. Cedar Road in New Lenox, told the officer the man had overdosed on heroin. The man had a slight pulse and was transported to Silver Cross Hospital by the Mokena Fire Protection District.

Matela and Miller were both placed under arrest.

A search of the car revealed a used hypodermic needle, a metal Altoids container containing heroin residue, .5 grams of cannabis, a package of unused needles, a bag containing 2.2 grams of cannabis, two glass pipes, two packages of rolling papers and a plastic bag containing nine Xanax pills.

Matela was transported to Will County Jail. His next court date is Jan. 17.

Miller was charged with possession of drug equipment and released on a $1,000 I-bond, pending a court date in Joliet. 

Police blotter information is provided by the Mokena Police Department. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions taken on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome.

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