5 years in prison for first of two in 2018 McHenry Twp. overdose death
A 26-year-old man has been sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the heroin-fentanyl overdose death of a McHenry man in September 2018.
Kenneth M. Harris of Woodridge originally was charged with drug-induced homicide, a felony with a sentencing range of six to 30 years in prison with no chance of probation, in the overdose death of Charles D. McCoy.
McCoy, 28, was found unresponsive Sept. 5, 2018, on the 3200 block of Kinley Boulevard in McHenry Township, and paramedics were unable to revive him. Authorities charged Harris this summer and he's been held at the McHenry County jail since Aug. 5, records show.
Harris was accused of giving drugs to another man, Gabriel A. Stanaszek, 21, of Crystal Lake, who later provided the drugs to McCoy, who died of an overdose, according to prosecutors.
On Wednesday, McHenry County prosecutors dismissed the homicide charge in exchange for a guilty plea for Harris on a felony charge of delivery of a controlled substance, which has a sentence ranging from three to seven years in prison but also is eligible for probation.
Judge Michael Coppedge accepted the plea and issued the sentence.
A message left with Harris' defense attorney, David Giesinger, was not immediately returned on Thursday.
Under state law, Harris can have his prison sentence cut in half for good behavior. He also must pay $3,633.75 in fines and fees, record show.
Stanaszek also is charged with delivery of a controlled substance, which carries a top prison term of seven years. He also faces a charge of felony possession of a controlled substance from a May 2019 arrest in Lake in the Hills, according to court records. He faces a sentence ranging from probation to up to three years in prison if convicted in that case.
Stanaszek is free on bail and next due in court on Jan. 3.