ALTON - Authorities have filed suit to retrieve $2,200 in suspected drug money from a man accused of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of a firearm.
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Charged is Darrell D. Booth, 32, who was the target of an undercover drug buy and who was restricted by an order of protection at the time he was arrested.
Alton Police and federal drug agents raided his house in the 1000 block of Elliott Street on July 23. The suit became public on Monday.
The suit was filed under a state law allowing authorities to take possession of assets believed connected to the drug trade. The Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office filed the suit.
A sworn statement alleges that Booth sold drugs to an undercover informant, which gave rise to the search warrant. While searching the home, police found the money on Booth’s person and found the handgun in plain sight.
The sworn statement claims the money was from drug sales. “It was also found that Booth does not have a job and no legitimate means to obtain money,” the affidavit claimed.
Booth has previous convictions for disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor that that was reduced from a robbery charge. He also has a conviction for battery, for which he was placed on probation.
He was facing a pending charge of possession of drugs when he was arrested.
Court records show there was also an order of protection against Booth, filed by a woman who stated Booth was hired by an Alton woman who hired him to build a deck and remodel her bathroom.
“He became high strung, prone to argument and thought nothing about talking over you,” according to a sworn statement in support of the order.
“Five weeks and four days after he started, Darrell was still working on the bathroom,” the affidavit stated. He would leave the house to go to a hardware store but not return for hours, according to the woman’s statement.
The woman said that, on one occasion, he called her at 12:12 a.m. and at 1:56 a.m. She sent a message to home not to do that again.
The applicant said Booth then became upset with her. He became verbally abusive, she said, and then she found out he had a felony conviction and had been examined to determine the state of his mental health. A judge signed an order to stay away from the woman’s home.
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