Chicago-area judge gave a pretrial release to a man who was arrested for allegedly possessing 62 pounds of cocaine, CWB Chicago reported.
Terrence Slaughter was arrested on Oct. 24 at Chicago Midway International Airport for possessing over $3.5 million worth of cocaine in two roller bags, but was released after prosecutors declined to ask the judge to keep Slaughter in custody until his trial, according to CWB, a local news outlet. Slaughter had just finished serving a 15-year sentence he received in 2007 for stealing between 33 and 38 guns from a police sergeant’s home in 2003.
Illinois eliminated its cash bail policy in September because officials claimed it “exacerbated existing inequities and disparities” in the legal system. Under the new policy, a suspect is not eligible for pretrial incarceration unless they have committed a violent crime or have been labeled as a flight risk.
