Man pleads guilty to cocaine possession, gets 6 years; more serious charge dismissed

A Chicago man arrested in Harvard last year and charged with possessing and intending to delivery cocaine pleaded guilty on Monday to a lesser offense and was sentenced to six years in prison, McHenry County court records show.

Samuel Smolyar, 21, entered into a negotiated plea of guilty to possessing between 100 and 400 grams of cocaine, court records show.

In exchange for his guilty plea, a more serious charge of unlawful possession with intent to deliver between 100 and 400 grams of cocaine was dismissed.

The felonies charges were upgraded to “Super” classification because of the amount of the drugs involved and the potentially enhanced sentencing range.

The Class “Super” X felony carries a prison term of up to 40 years.

Smolyar is required to serve half of his sentence and will receive credit for 355 days served in the county jail. When released he will be on mandatory supervised release for 12 months.

Judge Tiffany Davis found that his crimes were committed as a result of the use or abuse or addiction to alcohol or controlled substances and recommended he be placed in a substance abuse program while in prison, according to the sentencing order