La Salle bust yields La Salle County record for packaged heroin

Rock Island woman held on $5 million after 42-pound seizure

A Rock Island woman was jailed on $5 million bond Thursday after a traffic stop near La Salle yielded 42 pounds of fentanyl-laced heroin — a La Salle County record — with a street value of $2.5 million.

Donisha Crawford, 41, was charged Thursday with one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. The charge is a Super Class X felony with an elevated sentencing range of 15 to 60 years in prison with no possibility of probation because of the sheer size of the bust.

La Salle County Circuit Judge Cynthia M. Raccuglia approved Crawford’s request for the services of the public defender and granted the state’s request for $5 million bond. Crawford needs to post $500,000 to be released from La Salle County Jail. Her next court appearance is June 23.

Crawford was charged Wednesday after state police conducted a routine stop for speeding (she was clocked at 85 mph in a 70-mph zone) at 7:09 p.m. Wednesday on Interstate 80, a mile between the exits for Routes 351 and 178.

Chief Deputy Assistant La Salle County State’s Attorney Joe Navarro said in open court Thursday the state police officer on patrol caught a “strong odor of raw cannabis” while speaking to Crawford, who acknowledged possessing and recently smoking cannabis.

That seizure, however, cleared the way for a vehicle search that yielded 16 sealed packages each weighing about 2.6 pounds. (Gross weight: 41.6 pounds) Navarro said the contents were a blend of heroin, fentanyl and carfentanil. Fentanlyl is a synthetic opiod and carfentanil is an elephant tranquilizer. These are often blended with heroin to increase potency but also toxicity.

In seeking bond, Navarro described the seizure as a matter of public safety and called the contraband “highly toxic, highly lethal and responsible for many overdoses in the state.”

A grand jury will take up the case June 23 and could return an amended indictment based on lab testing and/or more precise weighing of the seizure.

La Salle County Courthouse