A Grayslake woman is facing felony charges after she allegedly sold a large quantity of cocaine, along with multiple guns, as prosecutors say she was “flooding” Lake County with deadly drugs.
Julia I. Davis, 35, of Grayslake, was charged with five counts of manufacturing or delivery of cocaine, ranging from Class X to Class 1 felonies, and three counts of armed violence, a Class X felony.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Patrick Windmoeller said the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Group conducted a series of undercover purchases of cocaine and firearms from Davis in September and October using a confidential informant.
The exchanges occurred at Davis’ residence, located in the 500 block of Pheasant Court in Grayslake.
The confidential informant coordinated a purchase over Snapchat on September 4 for seven grams of cocaine from Davis in exchange for $240, Windmoeller said.
The informant met with Davis at her residence later in the day and exchanged the money for a bag of a white powdery substance, which was lab confirmed as seven grams of cocaine.
Windmoeller said the confidential informant coordinated another purchase with Davis over Snapchat on September 10 for an ounce of cocaine in exchange for $800.
The transaction took place later in the day at Davis’ residence and the crime lab confirmed the substance was 29 grams of cocaine.
Davis had cut the informant a deal for $20 off because she was late for the meetup, Windmoeller said.
The informant coordinated another purchase with Davis over Snapchat on September 23 for four ounces of cocaine in exchange for $3,000.
Davis told the informant she would need to pick up more cocaine before they met up later that day, Windmoeller said.
The transaction occurred around 7 p.m. and the crime lab confirmed the white powdery substance sold was 119 grams of cocaine.
Windmoeller said the informant coordinated another purchase with Davis over Snapchat for an ounce of cocaine for $800, along with a gun for $925, on October 16.
The transaction occurred later that day and Davis provided the cocaine and firearm to the informant, Windmoeller said. The drugs were confirmed to be 29 grams of cocaine and the gun was a Glock 19 9mm handgun.
The informant also received two 9mm magazines containing multiple rounds of ammunition. The gun was sent to the ATF for further testing.
Windmoeller said the confidential informant coordinated another purchase with Davis over Snapchat on October 22 for an ounce of cocaine for $750 and two guns for $1,400.
The transaction occurred later that day and the crime lab confirmed the drugs were 28 grams of cocaine.
Officers identified the two firearms as a Beretta Model 950 .25 caliber handgun and a Remington 870 shotgun, Windmoeller said. The handgun was loaded and the shotgun was unloaded — both were turned over to the ATF.
Each transaction was captured by law enforcement surveillance and the informant was wearing a body camera.
“There are no conditions or combinations of conditions that will protect the community from the real and present threat of the Defendant’s trafficking in illicit substances,” Windmoeller said.
“Detention is the only method available to the Court to ensure that the community is protected from the Defendant’s ‘reckless disregard’ for the people of Lake County and her efforts to flood Lake County with deadly controlled substances,” Windmoeller said.
Davis was charged in late November. She later appeared for a detention hearing where Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted a petition to detain her pending trial.
Davis remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on January 13 for a preliminary hearing.