St. Charles man sentenced to 4 years in fatal fentanyl overdose
A 24-year-old man was sentenced to four years in prison Thursday for his role in the fatal fentanyl overdose of a woman in Sugar Grove Township in early 2017.
Eric P. Anthony, of the 3500 block of Voltaire Lane, St. Charles, is the third person to plead guilty in the Feb. 20, 2016, overdose death of Ashley Mastel, 21, who was found in her Sugar Grove Township house. Anthony agreed to testify against the fourth and final defendant.
Authorities said the heroin dose also contained fentanyl, an opioid pain medication that often is added to heroin as a cutting agent.
Anthony faced a six- to 30-year prison term on a charge of drug-induced homicide; Kane County prosecutors left that charge open and Anthony pleaded guilty to felony delivery of a controlled substance and agreed to testify in the case of Johnny L. Williams, 57, of Elgin, who also is facing a drug-induced homicide charge.
"He's always been cooperative with police and will continue to do so," said Anthony's defense attorney, Liam Dixon.
Anthony can have his four-year prison term, the minimum for the charge he pleaded guilty to, cut in half for good behavior. He also received credit for 161 days served at the Kane County jail.
Two other co-defendants have pleaded guilty in the case.
Joseph P. Tortorella, 27, of Aurora pleaded guilty to delivery of a controlled substance in March and was sentenced to 30 months' probation, according to court records. Neal Crowder, 28, of Batavia pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to seven years in prison with the recommendation for boot camp because he agreed to testify against three co-defendants, including Anthony. But Crowder's application for a six-month boot camp was rejected by prison officials.
Williams, of Elgin, is held at the Kane County jail on $215,000 bail, meaning he must post $21,500 to be released while the case is pending. He is acting as his own defense attorney in the case.