Man on lam surrenders to Lake County police

On the run from the U.S. Marshals Service since late June, a 25-year-old man suspected of delivering heroin that killed a Round Lake Park man turned himself in Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

Ronnie Nicholson of Chicago was accompanied by defense attorney Jed Stone when he surrendered at the Lake County sheriff’s office in Waukegan. Round Lake Park Police Chief George Filenko said Nicholson was held in lieu of 10 percent of a $1.5 million bond.

“From what I’ve been told,” Filenko said, “he (Nicholson) was running out of places to hide.”

U.S. marshals service agents attempted to arrest Nicholson at the Grand Oaks apartment complex at Grand Avenue and Oakwood Drive near Gurnee on June 29. However, Nicholson fled the complex, ran into a partially wooded field at Route 45 and Grand Avenue and eluded authorities.

Nicholson was wanted on an arrest warrant after being charged with drug-induced homicide and delivery of a controlled substance in the May 17 death of Steven M. LaFlamme, police said.

LaFlamme, 32, died minutes after injecting the heroin, according to authorities. Police said the subsequent investigation revealed LaFlamme purchased the heroin from Nicholson only hours before using it.

Authorities used helicopters and a canine unit for at least four hours in the hunt for Nicholson last month. Police said they didn’t believe Nicholson was armed when he eluded law enforcement.

Nicholson is on parole from the Illinois Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to obstructing justice and delivery of a controlled substance in 2007. Filenko said it’s likely the corrections department will review Nicholson’s parole status.