A seven-time felon has been charged with selling cocaine and fentanyl, which was witnessed by law enforcement, next to an elementary school in Crystal Lake while children played outside.
William E. Knight Jr., 43, of Crystal Lake, was charged with manufacturing or delivery of cocaine within a school zone, manufacturing or delivery of fentanyl within a school zone and two counts of possession of a controlled substance.
A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court alleges Knight manufactured or delivered cocaine and fentanyl within 50 feet of West Elementary School, 100 Briarwood Road in Crystal Lake, around 1:40 p.m. on November 13.
The complaint said the drug sale occurred while children were present.
Court documents said the sale was a controlled buy arranged between Knight and a confidential informant.
The informant was working with the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, which was surveilling the deal, including using an authorized emergency overhear.
Officers observed Knight pacing outside his residence while calling the confidential informant’s phone, court documents said.
Knight and the confidential informant met inside the home and Knight accepted $150 in exchange for 1.5 grams of a white, rocky substance that field-tested positive for cocaine and fentanyl, court documents said.
Knight resides in the 1400 block of Briarwood Circle, which directly backs up to West Elementary School.
Court documents said children were seen playing on the West Elementary School playground less than 250 feet away during the transaction.
“This demonstrates an immediate and reckless threat to the community’s children,” McHenry County Judge Cynthia Lamb said.
Knight has 27 prior criminal convictions, including seven that are felonies. Lamb called it a “prolific criminal history.”
Knight also has pending felony charges for aggravated fleeing to elude police, driving on a suspended license and additional drug-related offenses.
The judge said no combination of conditions of release could mitigate the safety threat Knight poses and noted that he has 16 prior failures to appear in court.
“Based upon the Defendant’s access to fentanyl, his established pattern of fleeing, failing to appear, and violating pretrial release, no condition short of detention can mitigate the immediate risk this defendant poses to the safety of any persons or the community, likewise no condition short of detention can mitigate the risk of flight from prosecution posed by this defendant,” Lamb said.
Knight was arrested in March in a separate case but charged in the Crystal Lake drug sale on Thursday.
He remains held in the McHenry County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on Tuesday for a preliminary hearing.