Ottawa woman arrested on drug-induced homicide charge

A 38-year-old Ottawa woman was arrested Sunday on drug-induced homicide charges, after prosecutors said she dealt drugs that resulted in a death.

Ottawa Police were dispatched Feb. 5 to the Sands Motel, 1215 La Salle St., Ottawa, for a report of a person who may have overdosed. The victim, Jacalyn Norris, was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy was conducted and further toxicology reports indicated Norris's death was a result of fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl intoxication, according to the La Salle County state's attorney's office.

Based on the investigation, Heather R. Reynolds was charged with drug-induced homicide. Prosecutors say she dealt the drugs that killed Norris. A warrant was issued March 12 and on Sunday, Reynolds was taken into custody by Ottawa police while they were dispatched to an unrelated call at 120 West Stevenson Road.

Reynolds was taken to the La Salle County Jail where she remains at the time of this release, needing $100,000 for release. If convicted, Reynolds faces a sentence of 6 to 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. The investigation was conducted by members of the Ottawa Police Detective Division who had assistance from members of the Tri-DENT drug task force and the La Salle County Coroner’s Office.

Reynolds and Norris knew each other, according to Ottawa Det. Kyle Booras.

"In many cases, drug dealers are mixing fentanyl-related substances with heroin, worse yet, delivering straight fentanyl, thereby increasing the potency that produces a lethal combination causing soaring overdose deaths," the state's attorney office said in a press release. "Fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances represent the deadly convergence of the synthetic drug threat with the current national opioid epidemic.

"We remain committed to helping those who struggle with addiction to receive the treatment they may need, but we are equally committed to aggressively prosecuting those who choose to take advantage of those individuals suffering from addiction by selling these drugs in our communities," the state's attorney's office added in the release.