A 51-year-old Crystal Lake man facing drug-induced homicide charges agreed to a plea deal earlier this month that resulted in a nine-year prison sentence, court records show.
Michael E. Sindowski was accused of delivering in May 2020 the heroin and fentanyl that Mark Wiegert fatally overdosed on, according to the criminal indictment.
Wiegert was found dead in a Crystal Lake apartment on May 7, 2020, according to a motion filed by prosecutors.
He had a pill capsule in his pocket that tested positive for fentanyl as well as a single dose of naloxone, which can be used to reverse an opioid overdose, according to the motion. Crystal Lake police also said they found correspondence in which Sindowkski told Wiegert he could deliver drugs to him at a Crystal Lake convenience store.
Sindowski subsequently was indicted on three counts of drug-induced homicide, one for heroin, another for fentanyl and the third for a combination of the two. He also was charged with three counts of delivering a controlled substance.
The most serious charge, drug-induced homicide, is a class X felony typically punishable by six to 30 years in prison.
In the plea deal earlier this month, Sindowski pleaded guilty to one count of delivering between 1 and 15 grams of a substance containing heroin and in exchange, prosecutors dismissed the other charges, court records show.
McHenry County Judge Michael Coppedge sentenced Sindowski to nine years in prison, which will be served at 50%, court records show. Sindowski also received credit for the 393 days he spent in custody.
Coppedge also recommended Sindowski be placed in a substance abuse program while incarcerated but that determination is ultimately up to the Illinois Department of Corrections.
An attempt Monday to reach the McHenry County Public Defender’s Office, which represented Sindowski, was unsuccessful.
Source: The Daily Chronicle