Man pleads guilty in I-88 heroin arrest near Aurora
A 46-year-old Rock Island man initially charged with possession of an uncut ounce of heroin with intent to deliver pleaded guilty Friday to a reduced charge.
Robert R. Butler, of the 4400 block of Seventh Avenue, was charged in September 2014 and will be sentenced March 18 by Kane County Judge James Hallock, according to court records.
Butler and another Rock Island resident were arrested after a stop as they headed west on Interstate 88 near Route 31 by members of the North Central Narcotics Task Force, a unit of the state police. Authorities seized 27 grams of unpackaged heroin, 11 grams of crack cocaine in a single chunk and $1,250, officials said.
A jury trial for Butler was set for Monday but he pleaded guilty last week to the reduced charge of possession of a controlled substance, a felony that carries a punishment ranging from probation to three years in prison.
The original charge against Butler, and his passenger, Courtney E. Martin, 36, of possession of more than 15 grams of heroin with intent to deliver carried a penalty of six to 30 years in prison with no chance of probation.
Martin is next due in court Feb. 18.
Butler has been held at the Kane County jail on $500,000 bail since his arrest. He is eligible to have his prison term cut in half for good behavior.