DuPage drug dealer, now on the run, sentenced to 20 years
A 25-year-old Berwyn man was sentenced in absentia Monday to 20 years in prison for selling heroin in DuPage County, authorities said.
A jury found Jose Morales guilty in September of one count of manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance and one count of armed violence. Judge Brian Telander handed down the sentence.
Authorities said Morales was arrested in September 2015 by Homeland Security investigators for selling heroin while armed with a Beretta 9 mm handgun.
Bail was set at $1 million the following day but was reduced to $750,000 in December of that year over the state's objection. Morales posted the necessary 10 percent, or $75,000, on Dec. 10, 2015, and was released from custody.
On March 9, 2017, DuPage authorities were alerted that Morales' GPS monitoring device had been tampered with and it later was found near Route 83 and Roosevelt Road in Elmhurst.
Authorities say his whereabouts is unknown and a no bond arrest warrant is in effect.
"Mr. Morales may believe that he has avoided responsibility for dealing drugs in DuPage County," State's Attorney Bob Berlin said in a news release. "Nothing could be further from the truth. I am confident that Mr. Morales will be caught and when he is, he will have a 20-year sentence behind bars waiting for him."
Morales received a 20-year sentence on each charge. The sentences will be served concurrently.