Elburn man takes plea in Ecstasy case

An Elburn man who claimed he was "a scientist, not a user," pleaded guilty Friday to possession of a controlled substance in Kane County court.

The Class 4 felony was a far cry from the Class X felony Neil T. Tomsheck was originally charged with in 2009, when Elburn police said they found 150 grams of Ecstasy in his home, as well as hallucinogenic mushrooms.

Tomsheck, 20, was sentenced to 30 hours of community service and 24 months of probation. If he had been convicted of a Class X felony, probation would not have been an option.

Tomsheck was arrested in October 2009 on charges of possession of a controlled substance (Ecstasy) with intent to deliver, the Class X crime, and possession of a controlled substance. But the possession with intent charge was dismissed when he was indicted in March 2010, because the weight of the drugs was far less than originally reported only 4.8 grams, according to test results from the Illinois State Police laboratory.

When arrested, police say, Tomsheck told them "I just make the Ecstasy here. I don't sell it. I'm a scientist, not a user."

Tomsheck's previous criminal history in Kane County includes a misdemeanor charge of criminal damage to property for a prank he and two other teens pulled at Kaneland High School in January 2008. They were accused of letting the air out of at least one tire on more than 40 of the district's school buses one morning, and pulling the plugs on fluid heaters on many of the buses, on one of the coldest days of that winter. It forced the cancellation of school that day. Tomsheck successfully completed a pretrial diversion program, and the charge was dismissed in March 2009.