Arrest warrant issued for convict wanted in connection with 2 fatal overdoses in Marengo

An arrest warrant was issued Thursday for a convicted felon accused of delivering a fatal dose of cocaine laced with fentanyl that killed two people in Marengo.

Jarrail R. Ford-Gresham, 34, is charged with two counts of drug-induced homicide, Class X felonies, as well as criminal conspiracy-manufacturing and delivering 1 to 15 grams of cocaine, and manufacturing and delivering fentanyl, according to the criminal complaint filed in the McHenry County courthouse.

On Nov. 29, Ford-Gresham allegedly delivered cocaine laced with fentanyl to a man and a woman who inhaled the narcotic and later died, according to the complaint.

In 2022, Ford-Gresham pleaded guilty to aggravated fleeing and eluding police, causing more than $300,000 in property damage and unlawful possession of weapons by a felon. He was sentenced to 3½ years in prison.

His sentence began April 29, 2022, and he was released on mandatory supervised release May 12, 2023. He was subsequently discharged from supervised release Nov. 14, 2023, said Naomi Puzzello, public information officer for the Illinois Department of Corrections. The end of his supervised release was only five days before he allegedly delivered the fatal dose of cocaine and fentanyl for which he currently is facing charges.

In the 2022 conviction, Ford-Gresham, who lived in Schaumburg at the time, fled from Fox River Grove police “at a high rate of speed” during an attempted traffic stop the evening of Sept. 9, 2020, Lake County Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said at the time.

Ford-Gresham was driving a Mercedes-Benz northwest along Lincoln Avenue when he crossed the intersection at North River Road; sideswiped a parked Honda Odyssey minivan, a fire pit, patio furniture, a gazebo and a deck; then plunged into the Fox River in the 400 block of North River Road, according to court records and Covelli.

Police found a Glock pistol inside the vehicle he was driving. The vehicle did not belong to him, according to the indictment filed in McHenry County and Covelli. Ford-Gresham was convicted of aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer March 24, 2017, in Winnebago County. He also has criminal convictions for promoting prostitution in Will County in 2018 and residential burglary in Cook County in 2007.