Carpentersville man caught with 6 pounds of heroin sent to prison for 16 years
A 37-year-old man charged with possessing six pounds of heroin at two Carpentersville locations in March 2017 has been sentenced to 16 years in prison and fined $100,000 after pleading guilty on the eve of trial.
Mario Betancourt, of the 2100 block of Morningside Circle, was set for a jury trial Monday but pleaded guilty late last week in Kane County court, records show.
Betancourt admitted to one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver in exchange for prosecutors dismissing other, less severe charges, court records show.
Betancourt and another man were charged in March 2017 after authorities executed search warrants at two residences.
Police and Drug Enforcement Administration agents found two kilograms, or nearly 4½ pounds, of heroin on the 0-99 block of Wren Road and one kilogram, about 2.2 pounds, at a home on the 2100 block of Morningside, authorities said.
Kane County Judge D.J. Tegeler accepted the plea agreement. Betancourt faced a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison.
A message left for Betancourt's defense attorney, Julio Valdez, was not returned Monday.
Under state law, Betancourt must serve 75 percent, or about 12 years, of his sentence. He gets credit for the nearly 26 months he spent in the Kane County jail on $4 million bail since his arrest.
Betancourt is the second person sent to prison in the drug bust. Misael Oropez-Garcia, 32, of Carpentersville pleaded guilty in November 2018 to possession with intent to deliver 15 grams to 100 grams of heroin and was sentenced to six years in prison and fined $10,000, according to court records.