Cocaine dealer gets 9 years in prison

A Chicago man accused of dealing crack cocaine in the western suburbs was sentenced to nine years in prison Wednesday for selling to undercover police officers in Kane County last year.

Michael A. Mattix, 47, of the 1900 block of North Sayre Avenue, pleaded guilty in September to unlawful delivery of a controlled substance. He had faced up to 30 years in prison for the Class X felony.

Assistant State's Attorney Kelly Orland said Mattix sold six grams of cocaine to an undercover officer from the North Central Narcotics Task Force on Aug. 19, 2009, in Aurora. Less than a week later, on Aug. 25, 2009, he sold more than an ounce in another undercover drug buy, also in Aurora.

Narcotics agents arrested Mattix and co-defendant David J. Johnson, 39, also of Chicago, in Lisle last September after police said they failed to show up for a third scheduled drug buy in Kane County. A third Chicago resident, David L. Jackson, 44, was later arrested in connection with the scheme.

Authorities have said the men routinely dealt crack cocaine in the suburbs, with Mattix arranging transactions over the phone.

By law, Mattix must serve at least 4½ years of his prison term, with credit for more than a year served in the Kane County jail while his case was pending. Judge Thomas Mueller also ordered him to pay about $6,000 in court fines and costs.

Johnson pleaded guilty to unlawful delivery of a controlled substance in December and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Jackson, who returns to court Nov. 19, remains charged with unlawful delivery of a controlled substance and calculated criminal drug conspiracy, according to court records. He has pleaded not guilty.