A Holiday Hills man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after he was caught with 75 bags of heroin and fentanyl following the drug-induced homicide of a man near McHenry.
Joel W. Tynis, 39, of Holiday Hills, was charged in March 2022 with three counts of drug-induced homicide, a Class X felony.
A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court alleges that Tynis delivered a controlled substance to 52-year-old Scott A. Rzepka on January 5, 2022.
The substance, a combination of heroin and fentanyl, was ingested by Rzepka and caused his death, the complaint said.
Prosecutors said in a motion that multiple witnesses gave statements to police indicating Tynis sold drugs to Rzepka before his death, which occurred on January 5, 2023, in unincorporated McHenry.
The same witnesses told police that they had also purchased narcotics from Tynis on multiple occasions, the motion said.
Officers arrested Tynis on January 6, 2023, and found him in possession of 77 individual bags of a powder substance, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Ken Hudson.
Hudson said that the drugs weighed approximately 27 grams and that the powder field-tested positive for the presence of fentanyl.
Police searched Tynis’ home and found packaging materials, a cannabis grow, scales and multiple bags of suspected fentanyl.
Prosecutors said earlier this week that the drugs weighed 39 grams and also contained heroin.
Tynis was initially arrested in January 2023 and only charged with possessing and distributing the drugs that were seized by police. The drug-induced homicide charges were filed two months later.
Court records show Tynis entered into a negotiated plea deal with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office on Monday.
He pleaded guilty to possession of 15-100 grams of heroin, a Class 1 felony, in exchange for the rest of his charges being dismissed, including drug-induced homicide and other felony drug-related charges.
Tynis was sentenced to 10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections by McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis pursuant to the plea.
McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi Freese said following the hearing that she commends the “thorough investigative efforts” of Detective Ryan Ehardt and the McHenry Police Department, along with the forensic efforts from the Illinois State Police Rockford Forensic Science Laboratory.
“The Office remains committed to the zealous prosecution of those who possess, deliver, or distribute illegal narcotics in our county,” Freese said.