The owner of a neighborhood grocery store in Waukegan has been sentenced to probation after prosecutors say he was selling drugs out of his store while possessing a loaded gun.
The Waukegan Police Department executed a search warrant at Peoples Market, 901 8th Street in Waukegan, in the afternoon on February 26.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Vukovich said at the time that Alaa M. Khalifah, 35, of Lindenhurst, leased the building from another person to run the grocery store, according to .
Officers took Khalifah into custody upon entering the store and a canine unit was also assisting during the warrant while officers searched the business.
Officers recovered items from inside the store, including underneath the register in storage shelves, in a backroom and in Khalifah’s car.
Investigators located 12.7 grams of cocaine, almost 500 grams of cannabis and 28.5 grams of cannabis gummies, Vukovich said.
Officers also located a 9mm Taurus handgun that had live rounds in the magazine.
Vukovich said the firearm was located underneath the cash register where the cannabis and some of the cocaine were also located.
Officers also located a digital scale near the drugs, dispensary cannabis bags, glass jars with different types of cannabis labeled on them and approximately 100 empty ziplock-style baggies.
A significant amount of cash, some of it in singles rubber-banded together, was also found, Vukovich said. The canine indicated for drugs on two cash register tills.
The search warrant was the result of three controlled drug buys that the Waukegan Police Department conducted with Khalifah inside his store earlier in the month.
The controlled buys occurred while the store was open for business and customers were coming in and out while purchasing items, Vukovich said.
A $20 bill was in a satchel-like bag that officers found during the search and it was the same exact bill used in one of the prior drug transactions.
Khalifah was charged with armed violence, manufacturing or delivering cocaine, possession of 2,000-5,000 grams of cannabis, enhanced possession of cannabis over 100 grams and possession of a controlled substance.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Khalifah pending trial, arguing he posed a real and present threat to the safety of the community.
“The defendant was also selling drugs, while in possession of a loaded firearm, out of an open neighborhood grocery store when customers were coming in and out. The defendant poses a clear and present threat to the safety of the community given his drug dealing,” Vukovich said at the time of his arrest.
Attorney Jason Dreifuss, who represented Khalifah, said his client, like many business owners, had a gun on the premises and that it would be “foolish” to have an unloaded gun. He said his client was licensed to own the gun.
Khalifah has been held in the Lake County Jail pending trial since his arrest.
Court records show Khalifah entered into a negotiated plea deal with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office earlier this month.
He pleaded guilty to one count of manufacturing or delivery of 1-15 grams of cocaine, a Class 1 felony, in exchange for the rest of his charges being dismissed.
The deal also involved Khalifah being released from custody with 134 days of credit for time already served.
He was placed on 36 months of probation, ordered not to possess or consume illegal drugs, be subject to a curfew and not possess weapons.