NEW GLARUS - A New Glarus village board member had a warrant out for failure to appear in Illinois court in May, but the issue has since been resolved.
Eric Gobeli, 43, New Glarus, was arrested about 15 years ago for possession of a small amount of marijuana in the form of seeds and stems located in the ashtray of a 1963 Plymouth he was driving, according to Stephenson County Sheriff's records. Gobeli was pulled over on McConnell Road near Freeport for a faulty tail-light when the officer found about 1.2 grams of seeds and stems in the ashtray. Gobeli said the marijuana was not his and was leftover from the car's previous owner. Gobeli said he had unpaid parking tickets in Milwaukee so his license was suspended, adding another ticket to his charge.
Gobeli said he assumed the misdemeanor charge would not require a court appearance and he would only have to pay a fine. Gobeli never appeared in court, and in May of this year the Stephenson County Sheriff's Office issued a warrant for Gobeli for failure to appear.
"I got a lawyer involved and within seven days this thing was taken care of," Gobeli said of the warrant.
He said he has had numerous background checks for liquor licenses and buying firearms and the charge in Illinois never came up.
"It's not nearly as exciting or juicy as it sounds," he said.
Gobeli said as soon as he found out about the warrant, he immediately went down and paid the bond to have the warrant canceled. He said he will have to appear for a court date in the future and pay off any fines he has incurred.
"It's really a non-issue and doesn't have anything to do with me on the board; I would rather just stick to the real issues on hand like the library," Gobeli said.
Gobeli has been a member of the village board for almost two years.
Eric Gobeli, 43, New Glarus, was arrested about 15 years ago for possession of a small amount of marijuana in the form of seeds and stems located in the ashtray of a 1963 Plymouth he was driving, according to Stephenson County Sheriff's records. Gobeli was pulled over on McConnell Road near Freeport for a faulty tail-light when the officer found about 1.2 grams of seeds and stems in the ashtray. Gobeli said the marijuana was not his and was leftover from the car's previous owner. Gobeli said he had unpaid parking tickets in Milwaukee so his license was suspended, adding another ticket to his charge.
Gobeli said he assumed the misdemeanor charge would not require a court appearance and he would only have to pay a fine. Gobeli never appeared in court, and in May of this year the Stephenson County Sheriff's Office issued a warrant for Gobeli for failure to appear.
"I got a lawyer involved and within seven days this thing was taken care of," Gobeli said of the warrant.
He said he has had numerous background checks for liquor licenses and buying firearms and the charge in Illinois never came up.
"It's not nearly as exciting or juicy as it sounds," he said.
Gobeli said as soon as he found out about the warrant, he immediately went down and paid the bond to have the warrant canceled. He said he will have to appear for a court date in the future and pay off any fines he has incurred.
"It's really a non-issue and doesn't have anything to do with me on the board; I would rather just stick to the real issues on hand like the library," Gobeli said.
Gobeli has been a member of the village board for almost two years.