A Chicago man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison after he was convicted in the homicides of two McHenry County residents who died from ingesting heroin that he sold to one of them.
Raynardo O. Gonzalez, 54, of Chicago, was charged in November 2022 with two counts of drug-induced homicide and one count of manufacturing or delivery of 1-15 grams of heroin.
The Harvard Police Department began an investigation in August 2022 after two next-door neighbors in a residential neighborhood both died from heroin overdoses on the same day.
The two victims, identified as Nicholas Torres, 47, and Jason D. Schultz, 50, were found dead on August 28.
Torres was found unconscious in his home and transported to a hospital where he later died, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Ken Hudson.
Schultz was found and pronounced dead in his home.
Schultz’s death was ruled to be caused by heroin and ethanol. The coroner ruled Torres’ death to be caused by heroin toxicity.
Prosecutors said Gonzalez had been a long-time friend of one of the victims.
The investigation revealed that Torres had traveled from his home in Harvard to meet Gonzalez in Chicago to purchase heroin for both himself and his neighbor, prosecutors said.
Torres immediately drove back to Harvard after the transaction and gave Schultz his portion of the purchased heroin.
Both men ingested the heroin within their own homes, which resulted in their deaths.
Court records show Gonzalez entered into a negotiated plea deal with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office this week.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of drug-induced homicide, a Class X felony, in exchange for a sentence of 16 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
The sentence was agreed to by both victims’ families. Gonzalez was sentenced to 10 years in prison on the first count followed by six years in prison on the second count to run consecutively.
Gonzalez will be required to serve 75% of his sentence in accordance with truth-in-sentencing guidelines.
McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi Freese said she is grateful for the extensive efforts of Sergeant Eric See of the Harvard Police Department and the collaborative work with FBI Special Agent Jeremy Bauer of the Chicago Field Office of the Cellular Analysis Survey Team.
She also said she is proud of the work that the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office does in partnership with law enforcement to prosecute overdose deaths in McHenry County.
“All drug dealers who sell death to McHenry County residents will be investigated and prosecuted, regardless of whether or not they physically set foot in McHenry County,” Freese said.