Man caught with loaded gun, cocaine after fleeing crash in Lake in the Hills gets 18-year sentence

Victor Serrano was on pretrial release in Kane County case at the time, records say

Victor H. Serrano Jr.

A man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to possessing a loaded gun and cocaine when he caused a crash in Lake in the Hills, then fled on foot.

Victor H. Serrano Jr., 26, of Belvidere, pleaded guilty to armed violence and unlawful possession with the intent to deliver less than 1 gram of cocaine, according to an order signed by Judge Mark Gerhardt in McHenry County court.

Authorities said that about 7 p.m. June 21, 2024, Serrano drove at speeds of up to 130 mph in a 45 mph zone, caused a three-car crash and ended up in a ditch near Route 31 and Trinity Drive. He then ran from the scene west toward Virginia Road, police said.

When arrested, police said, Serrano was in possession of $16,000 in cash and a Springfield Hellcat 9mm handgun, with a fully loaded magazine, with one round in the chamber. In a duffel bag found in the back seat of the 2006 Dodge Charger he was driving, police found more than 127 grams of cocaine inside a black backpack and 113 grams of marijuana in a center console glove box and in the backpack, according to the criminal complaint.

Serrano was sentenced to 15 years on the armed violence charge and three on cocaine possession. He is required to serve half of each sentence followed by a period of mandatory supervised release. He will receive credit for 399 days in the county jail since his arrest, according to the judgment order.

Additional charges were dismissed in exchange for the plea, including drug and traffic offenses and evading police, the order said.

When Serrano was arrested in Lake in the Hills, he was on pretrial release from a fleeing and property damage case in Kane County, according to court records.

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