Traffic Stop Yields Heroin in Syringe — But No Drug Charge

St. Charles police stopped a man who was driving erratically and without a valid driver's license, then discovered a syringe with 12 units of heroin in the car — but could not file drug charges because the driver and his passenger both claimed the heroin was not theirs.

Ironically, the traffic stop comes at a time when heroin use has been called an "epidemic" in the west suburbs, particularly in DuPage County, where the coroner has said the county is on pace for a record number of heroin-related deaths this year.

Here's what happened:

On Monday, Oct. 21, St. Charles police were alerted to a possible drunken driver in a vehicle driving erratically on Main Street. Officers saw the vehicle swerving and accelerating rapidly from traffic lights and initiated a traffic stop, which ended when the driver — later identified as James Frederick Roesner, 34, of St. Charles — pulled into his driveway.

According to the report, Roesner immediately admitted his license was suspended and told the officer he was test driving the vehicle for his passenger, the vehicle’s owner, due to her concerns of brake problems and another issue affecting the vehicle’s acceleration.

A second officer was talking to the female passenger when he noticed a white syringe in a side compartment of the passenger door. The brown fluid in the syringe subsequently tested positive for heroin. With the syringe was a bottle cap with burn marks and an undetermined residue inside.

When asked where the drug paraphernalia came from, the woman said it was not hers and she did not believe it was Roesner’s. She told the officer she has a friend who uses heroin, but the friend is in jail and had not been in the woman’s vehicle for about a month.

But without a confession, Kane County prosecutors told St. Charles police, they would not authorize drug charges in the case.

Police did charge Roesner with driving on a suspended license. Roesner later posted bond and was released.

Patch reports on law enforcement activity, using information provided by official agencies. Persons charged with a crime, or issued a citation for violation of a local ordinance, are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If you or a family member are charged with a crime or cited for a violation, and the charge or citation is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify St. Charles Patch Editor Ted Schnell and we will do follow-up reporting on the case.