Eleven year sentence for Aurora man who sold fatal heroin dose

An Aurora drug dealer was sentenced Wednesday to eight years in prison for his role in a Joliet woman's fatal heroin overdose.

Ryan J. Faber, 27, of the 300 block South Fourth Street, pleaded guilty in July to one count of drug-induced homicide in the March 21, 2009, death of 18-year-old Amber J. Thompson.

In addition to the eight-year sentence handed down by Judge T. Jordan Gallagher, Faber received a consecutive term of five years in prison for an unlawful possession of cannabis with intent to deliver charge from an unrelated case in January 2009.

Kane County prosecutors said Faber sold a fatal dose of heroin to two men who gave the drugs to Thompson. Authorities said Thompson became unconscious and fell after one of the men injected heroin into her arm less than an hour after she inhaled the drug.

The group attempted to give Thompson mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but did not call 911 out of fear of getting into trouble, prosecutors said. The next morning, Faber found Thompson unconscious and not breathing, and the other men drove her toward an Aurora hospital, finally stopping at a gas station along the way to call 911.

With the potential for early release and credit for time served in the county jail, Faber most likely will spend between five and 5 1/2 years in prison, Assistant State's Attorney Mark Stajdohar said.

Co-defendants Christopher D. Parker, 23, of Aurora, and Kyle B. Hayes, 22, of Sandwich, each pleaded guilty earlier this year to drug-induced homicide and were sentenced to six and 10 years in prison, respectively.

Stajdohar said the prison terms should serve as a warning to drug users.

"I hope somebody out there gets the message and just stops," he said.