Crystal Lake man, 80, pleads guilty to cocaine possession

An 80-year-old Crystal Lake man who was accused of possessing cocaine and fentanyl and operating a drug-trafficking business out of his home has pleaded guilty to just one count of possessing cocaine.

Salvador Herrera-Castro of the 300 block of Valhalla Circle was sentenced to four years in prison. He is required to serve half the time and will receive credit for 289 days spent in the county jail since his arrest. When released, he will serve 12 months of mandatory court supervision, according to the judgment order filed in McHenry County court signed by Judge Mark Gerhardt.

On Sept. 5, Herrera-Castro was arrested after a traffic stop that led to a search of his home, McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorney Julio Cantre said during Herrera-Castro’s initial court appearance, at which he was detained in jail pretrial.

The search of his home turned up about 80 grams of a substance that field-tested presumed positive for fentanyl and cocaine, more than $21,000 in cash and “multiple digital scales” with suspected cocaine residue, Cantre and court records said. Gerhardt granted the forfeiture of $21,295.94.

The arrest followed a tip from a confidential informant in August that Herrera-Castro was trafficking drugs out of his home in a mobile home park. Police began surveilling him and worked with the informant conducting “controlled purchases” of cocaine from Herrera-Castro, according to an affidavit in support of forfeiture.

The informant bought $2,600 in cocaine from Herrera-Castro that field-tested positive for cocaine and fentanyl, the affidavit stated.

While Herrera-Castro was under surveillance, police tracked his vehicles with an electronic device and observed him briefly meeting with people in other vehicles in business parking lots and making “multiple hand-to-hand transactions,” according to the affidavit.

On the day Herrera-Castro was arrested, police pulled him over, a police dog detected narcotics and the vehicle was searched. Authorities found multiple bags of white powder that field-tested positive for cocaine and fentanyl, as well as more than $600 on Herrera-Castro and in the car, according to the affidavit.

At his home, police found multiple scales with white powder residue, packaging materials and more than $20,000 stashed in various amounts throughout the home, including $7,000 in separate rubber-banded bundles of $1,000 each, according to the affidavit, which said they authorities also found two bags of cocaine and fentanyl.

Prosecutors dismissed additional charges of possession with intent to deliver 15 to 100 grams of cocaine and possession and possession with intent to deliver 15 to 100 grams of fentanyl, each Class X felonies that carry a maximum prison term of 30 years. Also dismissed were charges of possession of a firearm and ammunition without a Firearm Owners Identification card and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to the order.

Herrera-Castro’s attorney, George Kililis, said: “We think it was a fair outcome.”