Algonquin man sentenced to jail, probation for cocaine possession

An Algonquin man was sentenced Tuesday to probation and jail time for possessing more than 17 grams of cocaine during a 2018 police search of his home.

Kiet H. Dang, 52, was led back to the county jail Tuesday afternoon after a brief sentencing hearing at the McHenry County courthouse.

McHenry County Judge Robert Wilbrandt sentenced Dang to 18 months of probation and 90 days in jail for a felony cocaine possession conviction. Prosecutors had asked for the minimum term of four years in prison.

Before Wilbrandt handed down the sentence, Dang vowed never to use drugs again.

"I have a responsibility to take care of my family, and I will never use (cocaine) again," Dang said Tuesday through an interpreter.

Dang also must complete 50 hours of community service and submit to random drug and alcohol testing, Wilbrandt said.

"If he's serious in regard to what he's telling me of having learned his lesson, he should have no problem passing those random tests," Wilbrandt said.

Dang will receive day-for-day credit toward his jail sentence, leaving about 45 days of time left to serve before he is released.

Dang, of the 500 block of Fairway View Drive, came to the United States as a refugee from Vietnam and settled in McHenry County, Wilbrandt said.

His criminal history was limited, aside from a 2008 misdemeanor driving under the influence charge that later was reduced to reckless driving, court documents show.

Dang's September 2018 arrest was the result of what originally began as a sexual assault investigation.

The alleged victim told police Dang and a woman sexually assaulted her days earlier while she was visiting their home, court record show. Neither Dang nor the woman was charged in connection with those allegations.

A police search of Dang's home, however, led officers to discover 17.7 grams of suspected cocaine in a safe with $7,749 in cash, two firearms and ammunition, prosecutors said in court Tuesday.

Dang owned the guns legally and was responsible to keep the weapons - along with the cash - in a safe, his attorney David Franks argued Tuesday.

"There's no indication whatsoever that he was supplying (the drugs) to anyone else," Franks said.

Dang entered a blind guilty plea in December to possession of between 15 and 100 grams of cocaine. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to dismiss a more serious charge of possession with intent to deliver cocaine. The Class X felony typically carries a penalty of six to 30 years in prison.