Drug-induced homicide charge upheld against Wauconda woman

A 27-year-old Wauconda woman will face trial next month on allegations she delivered a fatal dose of heroin to a friend last year after a McHenry County judge denied a defense motion Wednesday to throw out the case.

Judge Sharon Prather rejected defense arguments that the state's drug-induced homicide statute being used against Amanda K. Coots is unconstitutional, saying state appellate courts already have affirmed the law.

Coots, of the 300 block of Crestview Drive, was charged with the Class X felony after the June 6 fatal overdose of Rustin A. Cawthorn, 36, at a Super 8 motel in McHenry. Authorities allege Coots gave Cawthorn, of McHenry, heroin while they were using together that night.

Her attorney, Colin MacMeekin, argued Wednesday that the law is unconstitutional because it does not consider motive. As an example, he cited a hypothetical situation in which a parent finds a child's drug stash and orders the child to throw it away. If the child instead uses and overdoses, MacMeekin said, the parent could be charged with drug-induced homicide.

"It criminalizes potentially innocent behavior," he said. "That is the greatest failure of the statute."

Prather, however, sided with prosecutors, who argued that the law does account for motive when it requires authorities to prove the drugs were "knowingly delivered."

Coots remains in custody at the McHenry County jail unable to post the $250,000 bond set after her arrest in August. The case is scheduled for a jury trial April 12.