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Island Lake man gets 7½ years for supplying fatal dose of heroin

An Island Lake man accused of supplying a lethal dose of heroin to a Mundelein resident in December 2015 pleaded guilty to drug-induced homicide Monday in Lake County court.

Joseph W. Crisara III, 31, of the 300 block Tulip Circle, was sentenced to 7½ years in prison as part of the plea deal approved by Judge George Strickland, said defense attorney Eric Rinehart.

Under the terms of the agreement, Crisara is required to serve 75 percent of the sentence before being eligible for three years parole. Crisara also received credit for 961 days he's already served in the Lake County jail since his arrest, Rinehart said.

"Joe accepts full responsibility now and when he was arrested," Rinehart said. "He has worked hard to improve himself while in jail, and wants to get back to his family and children."

Crisara, who has been held on $200,000 bail, was facing up to 30 years in prison if found guilty at trial for the death of 27-year-old Jason Ericksen.

Ericksen was found unresponsive Dec. 26, 2015, by relatives in his bedroom. A police officer attempted to revive him with the overdose-reversing drug naloxone but was unsuccessful. Ericksen later was pronounced dead at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.

An autopsy determined he died of heroin intoxication, authorities said.

Crisara became a suspect after a search of the data on Ericksen's cellphone linked the two, authorities said.

Crisara was arrested Feb. 1, 2016, after Mundelein police, the McHenry County sheriff's office and U.S. Marshals Service searched his home.

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