Wheeling woman gets 6 years in prison for selling cocaine
A Wheeling woman whose previous drug charges were dismissed in the wake of a Schaumburg police scandal pleaded guilty Monday to selling cocaine and was sentenced to six years in prison.
Marleny Gutierrez, 22, was on parole for a 2013 DUI conviction at the time of her March arrest on charges of delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a park, prosecutors said. She was arrested on charges of selling 1.6 grams of cocaine to an undercover Mount Prospect police officer for $120.
In 2013, in the wake of a scandal involving three former undercover Schaumburg police officers accused of drug conspiracy, prosecutors dismissed earlier charges against Gutierrez, who had been arrested on charges of selling marijuana.
Prosecutors dismissed charges against certain defendants citing concerns about the credibility of former Schaumburg undercover officers John Cichy, Matthew Hudak and Terrance O'Brien. The former officers were arrested in January 2013 on charges of drug conspiracy, delivery of a controlled substance, armed violence and theft after authorities say they skimmed money and drugs from arrests they made. Hudak and O'Brien pleaded guilty and were sentenced to prison. Charges are still pending in DuPage County against Cichy.
Gutierrez received credit for 90 days in custody. She must complete at least 50 percent of her sentence before she is eligible for parole.