Man sentenced to 5 years for attempted Mount Prospect drug buy

A Georgia man was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday to trying to buy $25,000 worth of cocaine from an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agent working with Mount Prospect police.

George Yu, 26, pleaded guilty to attempted possession of a controlled substance. The prison sentence came with a recommendation for boot camp.

Yu arranged to meet the undercover agent in the parking lot of a Mount Prospect Wal-Mart on June 20, 2014, to buy a kilogram of cocaine, said Cook County assistant state's attorney Denise Loiterstein. Police recovered a weapon from Yu, who did not have a Firearm Owners Identification card, and charged him with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, Loiterstein said.

In exchange for pleading guilty to that charge, Yu was sentenced to three years in prison. Cook County Judge Marc Martin ordered he serve the sentences concurrently.

"Everyone is entitled to a second chance," Martin said in recommending Yu for the Illinois Department of Corrections impact incarceration program, also known as boot camp.

Boot camp consists of military-style training, substance abuse counseling, life skills training and education. Candidates must await an opening in the program and be approved for admission.