Suspected drug dealer busted in Aurora

Illinois State and Aurora police made a significant dent in the local drug trade Thursday by taking a suspected crack cocaine dealer off the streets.

Anthony D. Bogard, 25, an admitted gang member living in the 200 block of Valley Avenue, Aurora, faces nine drug-related charges in connection with the case, police said.

The charges are:

• Delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of Oakhurst Forest Preserve.

• Delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of St. Nicholas Catholic Church.

• Delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of the Fox River Bike Path.

• Three counts of delivery of a controlled substance.

• Three counts of possession of a controlled substance.

Bogard's arrest comes at the culmination of a three-month, undercover investigation involving the Illinois State Police's North Central Narcotics Task Force, according to a news release.

During the investigation, police said, a task force agent arranged three separate undercover crack cocaine buys with Bogard near public places.

Information was not available on how much the agent paid for the drugs or the amount of crack cocaine involved.

"Not only is the arrest of Bogard significant in taking an alleged cocaine dealer off the street, but the arrest takes a self-admitted ... gang member off the street also," Master Sergeant Jeff Kashmier said.

Bogard is being held at the Kane County jail on $750,000 bail.

Prison records show he has served three stints behind bars on other Kane County drug charges.

Most recently, Bogard was sentenced to 10 years in prison in a 2005 drug case. He was paroled in December, state records show.

The most serious charges he now faces are delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of the church and parks, Class X felonies punishable by a prison sentence between six and 30 years.

But because he has previous felony convictions, Bogard may qualify for an extended prison sentence of between 30 and 60 years.