A drug dealer was sentenced Tuesday to 18 years in prison after he was caught with three kilograms of heroin while trying to sell it for $60,000 in Crystal Lake.
Jose A. Zuniga-Olivas, 55, of Rockford, was charged in August 2023 with manufacturing or delivery of more than 900 grams of heroin, possession of more than 900 grams of heroin and possession of a controlled substance.
McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorney Matthew Brodersen said the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office stopped Zuniga-Olivas’ vehicle on August 2, 2023.
McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Canine Jett and his handler Deputy Caitlynn Kelly responded.
The canine indicated the presence of illicit substances in the vehicle, Brodersen said.
A search was conducted and three kilograms, or 3,000 grams, of black tar heroin was found in the trunk of the vehicle.
The search also resulted in officers finding 6.6 grams of cocaine and $1,185 cash on Zuniga-Olivas’ person.
Brodersen said Zuniga-Olivas was interviewed and he admitted he was bringing the heroin to Crystal Lake to sell to another person for $60,000.
Deputies arrested Zuniga-Olivas, who was on parole at the time for a drug case.
Zuniga-Olivas was sentenced in 2018 to 14 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for a case where he was convicted of possession with intent to deliver cocaine case, a Class X felony.
He was released on parole in March 2022.
Zuniga-Olivas also has a prior conviction in a 2013 case for aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class 2 felony, for which he received probation.
Prosecutors filed a petition to hold Zuniga-Olivas without bond, saying his release would “pose a real and present threat to the physical safety of any person or persons.”
Brodersen said in the petition that Zuniga-Olivas “wasted very little time getting back to his chosen profession of dealing dangerous and illegal narcotics.”
Zuniga-Olivas’ most serious charge in his most recent arrest is manufacturing or delivery of more than 900 grams of heroin, which is a “super” Class X felony.
“Upon release on any bail or set of conditions, the question is not whether the defendant will commit another offense, but how soon until the defendant resumes peddling narcotics,” Brodersen said at the time of his arrest.
McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis granted the state’s request to hold Zuniga-Olivas without bond in August 2023.
He has remained held in the McHenry County Jail and court records show he entered into a negotiated plea deal with the state’s attorney’s office this week.
Zuniga-Olivas pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a Class 1 felony, in exchange for the rest of his charges being dismissed.
McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis approved the plea and sentenced Zuniga-Olivas to 18 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections pursuant to the agreement.
McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi Freese said after sentencing that she “extends her commendation” to the members of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, including the Sheriff’s Office’s Intelligence Led Policing Unit, for their “diligent and effective investigative efforts” in combatting illegal drug sales and distribution in the county.