A suburban teen picked the wrong place to pull over and smoke some pot: in front of a local police chief's home.
That's what Maximilian G. Salling, 18, of Montgomery did, according to Naperville police.
He and a friend are accused of parking their red, 1999 Ford Escort on Sept. 13 outside the home of Villa Park Police Chief Robert Pavelchik Jr., who lives in Naperville.
"I'm coming down the street, and I see these two guys in a car," Pavelchik said. "I like to say I know most of my neighbors and friends, so I got out of my car with a flashlight in one hand and I said, 'What are you guys doing?' "They're blowing dope when I come home from work, right in front of my house," Pavelchik said with more than a little indignation. "I smell the dope, and I see the pipe and the bag of dope on the floor, what we call in plain view."
Pavelchik detained Salling and his friend until Naperville police arrived. Naperville Police Sgt. Gregg Bell said Salling was arrested and his friend was released without charges.
Salling has been held in DuPage County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail since being arrested.
Pavelchik downplayed his role. "This isn't the first time I've had to be the police in my neighborhood," he said. He also had some words of warning for anyone up to no good around him. "This is my neighborhood, pal, not yours."
