Harvard man pleads guilty to drug, gun charges; sentenced to 4+ years in prison

A Harvard man serving probation on an earlier drug charge when arrested last year on new felonies pleaded guilty Thursday to possessing cocaine and was sentenced to four years and five months in prison.

Marco A. Gomez, 22, of the 100 block of West Blackman Street, pleaded guilty to possession of 15 to 100 grams of cocaine, a Class 1 felony, according to a judgment order filed in McHenry County court.

Conviction on a Class 1 felony carries a prison sentence of four to 15 years and also is probational.

Gomez is required to serve at least half of the sentence and will receive credit for 189 days held in the McHenry County jail. After he is released from prison, he must serve one year of mandatory supervised release, according to court documents.

In exchange for his guilty plea, a more serious charge of possession with the intent to deliver 15 to 100 grams of cocaine, a Class X felony, was dismissed.

Had he been convicted of the Class X charge, he could have faced up to 30 years in prison.

Seven additional drug and weapons charges were also dismissed, including possession of a stolen arm and multiple felonies related to the possession of psilocybin and marijuana.

Gomez was arrested on or about 9 a.m. Sept. 14. At the time, he was in the possession of a stolen Ruger EC9s 9-mm pistol, seven live 9mm cartridges, cocaine, psilocybin and marijuana, according to the complaint and indictment.

At the time of his arrest, Gomez was serving two years of probation on a 2022 conviction on a charge of the manufacture and delivery of marijuana, court records show.

Gomez was accused of violating the probation not only by picking up new charges, but by testing positive for alcohol and cocaine, failing to report to his probation officer, and failing to submit to random screenings for drugs and alcohol, prosecutors alleged following his Sept. 14 arrest.

At a hearing where prosecutors sought to have Gomez kept in jail pretrial, the now retired Judge James Cowlin noted the new alleged offenses were committed while he was serving probation and ordered him detained.

“Defendant was given the opportunity for probation in that prior case and has now been alleged to commit the present offenses,” Cowlin wrote in the order detaining Gomez. “Relying on the State’s proffer of the results of the executed Search Warrant, lots of drugs, a gun, and ammunition were found. It appears to the court, Defendant is a drug dealer and willing to use a weapon when necessary.”

Gomez’s older brother, Juan Carbajal, 33, also was charged that same day in connection with Gomez’s case.

On March 8, Juan Carbajal pleaded guilty to possession of less than 15 grams of cocaine. He was sentenced to 352 days in the county jail. With credit for time already in custody, his sentence was considered served. He also was ordered to pay $2,665 in fines, records show.

In exchange for Carbajal’s plea, additional charges – including possession of ammunition by a felon, possession of psilocybin and possession of 100 to 500 grams of marijuana – were dismissed, records show.