Maple Park man pleads guilty to role in Elburn teen's death

A Maple Park man who gave a friend heroin and then left him in an alley after an apparent overdose was sentenced Friday to four years in prison.

Nathan L. Green, 23, pleaded guilty to unlawful delivery of a controlled substance in the December 2007 death of 17-year-old Michael York of Elburn. He was sentenced to three years for the drug charge and an additional year for assaulting a Kane County jail guard while in custody last November.

Green is the first of three people charged in York's death to admit guilt. He declined to make a statement to the court Friday, even after York's mother accused him of showing "no remorse."

"You didn't just leave Mike's body in that alley, you left a piece of me there, too," York's mother, Cathy Reinert, told Green in an emotional statement in court. "You threw my son away as if he was a piece of garbage."

Green is expected to serve less than a year in prison with credit for time served since his arrest early last year and potential good behavior. Assistant Public Defender Tom McCulloch said his client pleaded guilty rather than go to trial in hopes of being released sooner so he can support a child and address his own medical issues.

Judge Allen M. Anderson noted Green's lack of an apology and his "callousness and disregard for the world around you" in accepting his plea.

"I do hope you make a great leap in maturity," Anderson said. "So far, you haven't demonstrated much."

Assistant State's Attorney Kelly Orland said Green supplied York with less than a gram of heroin at a party in St. Charles on Dec. 15 and 16, 2007. The teen was later found dead in an alley on Chicago's West Side.

Police say Green and co-defendants Jordan Billek, 19, of Maple Park, and Lindsey Parker, 24, of St. Charles, left York in Chicago after his apparent overdose at a party at Parker's residence, though the teen's official cause of death was undetermined.

Billek has pleaded not guilty and is due back in court March 4. His attorney could not be reached for comment.

Parker's attorney has said she intends to plead guilty. But the deal hasn't gone through as prosecutors look into disciplinary action that was since taken against two St. Charles police officers who worked on the case.

Parker, who also returns to court on March 4, had been expected to testify against Green before he pleaded guilty.

"The fact that he took a deal makes it easier for us to clear up Lindsey's case, either by plea or trial," defense attorney Vince Solano said. "It was her house. Other than that, she had no involvement."

At Friday's hearing, Reinert described her son as a "fun-loving kid" who considered Green a "friend in need," though she had warned York to avoid him.

She said she forgave Green, but only to help her and her two daughters, ages 16 and 3, move on. Reinert said she was not satisfied with the sentence.

"I don't think that was justice," she said outside of court. "My son lost his life. He's (Green) going to serve another six to eight months."