Pre-Trial Release Denied To Suspect In Fentanyl-Related Death Of Naperville Man

DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin and Naperville Chief of Police Jason Arres announced today that Judge Joshua Dieden has granted the States’s motion to deny pre-trial release for a 38-year-old Chicago man charged with supplying a fatal dose of fentanyl and alprazolam to a thirty-three-year-old man from Naperville in February, 2023.

The suspect has been charged with three counts of Drug Induced Homicide (a Class X Felony), one count of Manufacture/Delivery of a Controlled Substance (a Class 2 Felony) and one count of Manufacture/Delivery of a Controlled Substance (a Class 3 Felony). The suspect was taken into custody on Wednesday in Chicago and returned to DuPage County to face the charges against him.

Prosecutors allege that the suspect delivered illegal narcotics, including Fentanyl, via an unidentified third party to the victim on February 21, 2023. The next day, at approximately 1:46pm, the victim was found unresponsive in his home. He was pronounced deceased approximately twenty minutes later at 2:05 p.m.

When processing the scene, authorities found numerous bags containing illegal narcotics. An autopsy performed on the victim determined the cause of death to be Combined Drug Intoxication – Fentanyl, Alprazolam, Phenobarbital, and Fluoxetine. (The victim had legitimate prescriptions for Phenobarbital and Fluoxetine.) Further investigation identified the suspect as the individual who allegedly supplied the fatal dose of fentanyl and alprazolam to the victim.

“The tragic death of the victim is yet another terrible reminder of the extreme danger illegal narcotics, particularly fentanyl, continue to be in our communities,” Berlin said. “Losing someone close to you is hard enough but to lose a beloved family member so suddenly and unnecessarily can have a crippling, long-lasting effect on not just the immediate family, but also on surviving friends and relatives. I wish all those who knew and loved the victim strength as they must now rely on each other to keep their memories of him alive.

“To those who peddle this poison, today’s charges send a clear message that if you supply fatal narcotics that cause the death of another, you will be identified, charged, prosecuted and if found guilty, face up to thirty years in the penitentiary. I thank the Naperville Police Department for their outstanding efforts on this sad case as well as the U.S. Marshals Service and the Chicago Police Department for their assistance. I also thank Assistant State’s Attorney Alexandria Levan for her work in securing strong charges against [the accused].”