Crystal Lake man gets 5 years for delivering drugs to friend who died of heroin overdose

A Crystal Lake man received a five-year prison sentence Thursday for delivering heroin to his friend, who died from a drug overdose.

In the past, when 21-year-old John Galloway was in juvenile court, his mother, Judith Galloway, would beg the judge to issue the harshest possible sentence, hoping it would set him on the right path.

On Thursday, however, she wiped away tears as she pleaded a case for her son’s chance at a sober life outside of jail.

“John did not wake up one day and say ‘I want to be a drug addict,’ ” she said.

On Oct. 18, John Galloway entered blind guilty pleas to two counts of delivery of a controlled substance and one count of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.

The charges stemmed from three separate felony cases, in one of which John Galloway was accused of providing another man, 20-year-old Jacob Czipo, with the heroin on which he overdosed.

McHenry County judge and Chief of the 22nd Judicial Circuit James Cowlin sentenced John Galloway to five years in prison on the most serious charge, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance. The judge also issued five- and three-year sentences for the remaining delivery charges.

The sentences will run concurrently, meaning John Galloway only is required to serve the five-year term, of which he must complete 50 percent. He will receive credit for the 1½ years he’s already spent at the McHenry County jail.

Although John Galloway denied being the person who introduced Czipo to heroin, he took full responsibility for his friend’s death.

“I love Jake with all of my being, and I promise my future will be a reflection of the impact he has had on my life,” he said in court Thursday.

John Galloway and another man, Seth Ferguson, previously faced six to 30 years in prison on a drug-induced homicide charge tied to Czipo’s May 18, 2017, death. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss the charge in exchange for John Galloway’s plea. Ferguson took a plea deal to a lesser charge in February and died of an overdose in September, John Galloway said in court.

Czipo’s family wasn’t among the crowd of people packed into the McHenry County courtroom for John Galloway’s sentencing. Instead, prosecutors read aloud a letter on his mother’s behalf.

“I have little sympathy for John, since he made his own decisions ... but he has a future,” Rachel Czipo said in the letter.

John Galloway told the judge he’s committed to helping others who suffer from addiction, but despite John Galloway’s hope for a bright future, Cowlin noted a troublesome pattern in the man’s past.

John Galloway had been present at the time of at least two additional fatal overdoses before he was charged in connection with Jacob Czipo’s death, Crystal Lake police detectives testified Thursday. His history includes at least 43 run-ins with police between 2012 and 2017, including reports that he was missing or had run away, officers testified.

He also has overdosed on four separate occasions, but it wasn’t enough to keep him away, his mother said.

Assistant Public Defender Grant Tucker warned Cowlin that time in prison could offset the 18 months of sobriety John Galloway reached in the county jail and asked the judge for probation.

Cowlin, however, denied the request.

“Quite frankly, the court gets tired of being handed death certificates,” Cowlin said. “I hope that doesn’t happen in your case. Best of luck to you.”