
Two McHenry County men pleaded guilty Tuesday to delivering fentanyl to a Crystal Lake man who later overdosed and died, court records show.
Ryan James, 27, of Crystal Lake, and Jacob Stealy, 25, of Crystal Lake, individually pleaded guilty in McHenry County Circuit Court to one class one felony count of possession with intent to deliver up to 15 grams of fentanyl to Colton G. Steiner, 27, of Crystal Lake, in June, 2021.
James was sentenced to 6 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections and one year on supervised release at the end of his prison sentence, court records show.
Stealy was sentenced to 180 days in jail, 48 months of probation, ordered to not possess any drugs or alcohol and ordered to attend court-monitored screenings, court records show.
Charges of drug-induced homicide and criminal drug conspiracy were dismissed against both men in exchange for their guilty pleas.
James, Stealy, and Lucious Hemphill, 21, of Maywood, were charged with drug-induced homicide and calculated criminal drug conspiracy and delivering between one and 15 grams of a substance containing fentanyl to Steiner between June 2021 and October 2021 to Steiner.
Drug-induced homicide and calculated criminal drug conspiracy are class X felonies that could have put each behind bars for up to 30 years.
Steiner ingested the fentanyl and was later found dead. His death was ruled an overdose from fentanyl, court records show.
After the death, McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Task Force interviewed James, who admitted he had been actively selling pressed fentanyl pills, according court records.
James told task force members that he had been purchasing approximately 100 fentanyl pills every one or two weeks from Hemphill, records show.
Task force members contacted Hemphill and arranged to have him bring 100 fentanyl pills to a designated location in December 2021.
Hemphill arrived at the location where officers arrested him with 123 pills which field-tested positive for fentanyl, court documents show.
Hemphill was later charged him with multiple counts of possession of fentanyl with intent to deliver. He was later released after posting bond.
James also told officers that Stealy would sometimes drive him to meet Hemphill, and Stealy would pick up drugs on James’ behalf, records show.
Hemphill was arrested in January by the Rock Island Sheriff’s Office and transported to the McHenry County Jail.
He remains held on a $325,000 bond, jail records show.