Prosecutors drop fatal heroin overdose charge against McHenry man
Prosecutors have dismissed a drug-induced homicide charge against a McHenry man in connection with a 55-year-old man who was found dead at a gas station in January 2017.
Glen L. Miculinic, 67, of the 1200 block of Clover Lane, McHenry, was set for a jury trial this week in Woodstock, but he instead pleaded guilty to a felony drug charge and will be sentenced Jan. 23.
Miculinic has been held at the McHenry County jail since February 2017 on charges he provided a fatal dose of heroin to Eric Fredickson of Elkhorn, Wisconsin, who was found unresponsive at a Shell gas station, 2022 W. Rand Road, McHenry, on Jan. 11, 2017.
If guilty of drug-induced homicide, Miculinic faced a punishment of six to 30 years in prison with no chance of probation and would have to serve 85 percent of any sentence instead of the customary 50 percent for most crimes.
The charges were dismissed Monday as part of a "cold" or "blind" plea in which a defendant does not have an agreement with prosecutors beforehand and instead leaves the sentence in the hands of a judge, in this case Judge Robert Wilbrandt.
McHenry County Assistant State's Attorney Michael Combs declined to comment on why prosecutors dismissed the drug-induced homicide charge.
Miculinic's defense attorney, Alex Bederka, could not immediately be reached for comment on the case.
The drug charge that Miculinic pleaded guilty to carries a punishment ranging from probation to up to seven years in prison, plus a maximum fine of $200,000, according to court records and state statute.
Under state law, he will serve half of any prison term he is sentenced to Jan. 23 and will get 22 months of credit for time served at the McHenry jail toward any prison sentence.
Monday's plea was at least the second felony Miculinic is guilty of. He was sentenced to a year in prison and fined $1,110 in December 2002 after pleading guilty to felony possession of a controlled substance stemming from an October 2002 arrest in Crystal Lake, according to court records.