Batavia man gets 6 years in prison for selling heroin
A Batavia man has been sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to a felony heroin charge shortly before his trial was to begin.
Ross H. Hendricks, 27, of the 200 block of East Wilson Street, was set for a jury trial Monday on felony charges of possession of 15 grams to 100 grams of heroin with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia and misdemeanor child endangerment.
According to Kane County court records, Hendricks was accused of having drug paraphernalia, such as syringes, near his two toddler children after an arrest April 13, 2018.
Hendricks faced a punishment of six to 30 years in prison with no chance of probation if convicted. Instead, Hendricks pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of possession of 1 gram to 15 grams of heroin late last week and was sentenced to prison.
The charge is a felony, but carried a punishment of four to 15 years in prison as prosecutors said results from the crime lab showed the drugs from the April 2018 arrest did not exceed the weight threshold for the more severe charges.
As part of the plea agreement, other, less severe charges from the April 2018 arrest were dismissed.
Also last week, prosecutors lodged additional charges that Hendricks sold between 1 gram and 15 grams of a substance containing heroin or fentanyl to a "confidential source" March 19, March 28 and April 12, 2018, court records show.
Those news charges were dismissed after Hendricks' guilty plea, prosecutors said. If convicted in that case, Hendricks faced a punishment ranging from four to 15 years in prison.
A message left with the Kane County Public Defender's Office, which represented Hendricks in the two cases, was not returned.
Hendricks can have his prison term cut in half for good behavior, gets credit for about nine months served at the Kane County jail while the case was pending, and also must pay $2,250 in fines and court fees.
According to court records, Hendricks was arrested on felony drug charges in June 2010. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor marijuana charge was sentenced to a year of probation, which he violated and was later resentenced to 15 days in jail.