Botched Drug Deal Leads to Car Flipping Over on Illinois Highway

A drug deal gone wrong resulted in a car flipping over Wednesday afternoon in New Lenox, police said. 

Police were called to a car accident in the 100 block of Illinois Highway, just west of Cedar Road, at about 4 p.m. Wednesday and saw two men running from the scene carrying large bags.

Officers were able to catch the men and found about 2 pounds of marijuana and a handgun close to the accident. 

According to the New Lenox Police Department, two men met in the parking lot of the strip mall at the corner of Cedar and Illinois to conduct a drug deal. The deal was not associated with any of the businesses in the strip mall, police said. 

"Neither man had any connection with New Lenox," Deputy Chief Bob Pawlisz said. "It was just happenstance that they came here."

Police Chief Bob Sterba echoed that sentiment. 

"The fact that this occurred in New Lenox was very abitrary," he said. "They picked a random location and it worked very much to their detriment, because we were all over it."

Get Patch breaking news alerts to your email. 

David A. Salup, 37, of Bridgeview, got into the car of Philip A. Cassello, 26, of Chicago, to conduct the deal, police said. After Cassello took the drugs, he pointed a gun at Salup and demanded money, according to a police news release. 

There was a brief struggle, and then Cassello sped out of the parking lot. He lost control of the car and flipped over while turning onto Illinois Highway. 

Both men were taken to Silver Cross Hospital to be treated for unspecified injuries. 

Salup was charged with delivery of more than 30 grams of marijuana. Cassello was charged with armed robbery, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of a weapon. Both men were taken to Will County Jail. 

A Will County Sheriff's deputy assisted in the investigation, and Frankfort Police Department provided use of its facilities. 

Want more crime news? You might also like to read:

Like what you see? Like New Lenox Patch on Facebook, please. 

Police blotter information is provided by the . 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 . We will verify and report the outcome. If you have information about an unsolved crime, call the Investigations Unit at 815-462-6100.