Carpentersville man caught with 4 pounds of heroin gets 6 years in prison
A 32-year-old Carpentersville man, who was arrested in 2017 after police said they found four pounds of heroin at his residence, has been sentenced to six years in prison.
Misael Oropez-Garcia pleaded guilty this week to one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and possession of 15 to 100 grams of heroin, both felonies, according to Kane County court records.
Judge John Barsanti accepted the plea agreement, which also assessed a $10,000 drug fine, records show.
Oropez-Garcia faced six to 30 years in prison on the charge he pleaded guilty to; the most severe charge of possession of more than 900 grams of heroin carried a top penalty of up to 50 years in prison.
Oropez-Garcia and another man, Mario Betancourt, 38, were arrested in March 2017 after Carpentersville police and agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency found four pounds of heroin at Oropez-Garcia's home on the 0-99 block of Wren Road, authorities said.
Officers conducted a second search at Betancourt's home on the 2100 block of Morningside Lane and found 2 more pounds of heroin, along with $10,000, police said.
Authorities estimated the drugs to have a street value of $400,000.
Both men were held at the Kane County jail on $4 million bail and were required to prove that any bond money came from legal sources.
Under state law, Oropez-Garcia can have his sentence cut in half for good behavior in prison; he also gets credit for 20 months served at the Kane County jail while the charges were pending.
Betancourt is next due in court on Nov. 29.