Paul Moser, 63, of Marengo.

A 63-year-old man has been sentenced to probation in a case where he was accused of aiding and concealing a drug-induced homicide fugitive in Marengo.

Paul Moser, 63, of Marengo, was charged in September with two counts of concealing or aiding a fugitive, a Class 4 felony.

A grand jury indictment said Moser harbored, aided or concealed Melissa Ryan on June 13.

Moser notified Ryan about police presence near his residence, the indictment said.

Ryan, 36, of Marengo, was wanted at the time on a failure to appear in court arrest warrant where she was charged with possessing a controlled substance in Marengo on May 25, 2021.

Ryan was eventually arrested on the warrant and released from custody.

Less than two months later, Moser again harbored, aided or concealed Ryan by providing detectives with false information on August 2 regarding his knowledge of her whereabouts, the indictment said.

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At that time, Ryan was wanted for drug-induced homicide, a Class X felony, as well as other felony drug charges.

Those charges stemmed from an incident where the Marengo Police Department and Marengo Fire and Rescue Districts were called around 12:40 a.m. on July 16 to the 900 block of Beaver Pond Drive in Marengo.

Marengo Police Department Sgt. Andrew Kjellgren said officers received a call for an unresponsive man at the home.

Police and fire personnel located Michael Mancuso, 39, of Marengo, inside the residence.

Mancuso was pronounced dead at the scene, Kjellgren said.

McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorney Hunter Jones said a bag of heroin and fentanyl was found in Mancuso’s hand after he died. The bag tested positive for fentanyl.

Melissa M. Ryan, 36, of Marengo.

The McHenry County Coroner’s Office completed an autopsy and it was learned that Mancuso died as a result of a lethal dose of controlled substances, including fentanyl.

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Jones said phone records revealed that Mancuso and Ryan arranged to go to Rockford to purchase narcotics.

Ryan admitted to other people that Mancuso thought he was getting cocaine but she gave him heroin and fentanyl instead without him knowing, Jones said.

Moser, who was arrested in September, recently entered into a negotiated plea deal with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office, court records show.

He pleaded guilty to the first count of concealing or aiding a fugitive, a Class 4 felony, and prosecutors dismissed his second count of concealing or aiding a fugitive.

McHenry County Judge James Cowlin approved the plea earlier this month and sentenced Moser to two years of probation.

He was also ordered to serve six days in the county jail but was given credit for three days served following his arrest, so his jail sentence is considered already served.

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Moser was ordered to not consume any illegal drugs or alcohol as part of his probation, court documents show.

Ryan’s cases remain active and pending. She is being held in the McHenry County Jail on a $600,000 bond.