Authorities allege that a 19-year-old man knew the drugs he was peddling were of “low quality” yet continued to sell them, including the dose of MDMA that they say killed a Wonder Lake teen.

Carlos Manuel Paiz is accused of drug-induced homicide, a Class X felony, and unlawful delivery of MDMA in connection with the teen’s death, according to an indictment filed in McHenry County court.

Jail records list a Wonder Lake address for Paiz, but a prosecutor said Paiz lived in Ringwood at the time of the alleged crimes.

The coroner determined that the teen died from drug toxicity, Assistant State’s Attorney Daniel Conroy said. The teen had a mix of Xanax, MDMA and amphetamine in his system, according to court testimony.

MDMA is an illegal synthetic drug that acts as both a stimulant and a psychedelic, producing an energizing effect and distortions in perception, according to drugs.com.

The 17-year-old’s cause of death “was a combined drug toxicity, and the manner of death was an accident,” McHenry County Coroner Michael Rein said via email.

Paiz, who authorities said was arrested on a warrant in a Miami airport with his passport, made his initial appearance before a judge Wednesday.

Conroy argued that Paiz is a danger to the community. With his father having just recently moved back to Guatemala after 19 years living in McHenry, Paiz also is a flight risk, the prosecutor said.

Additionally, Conroy told the judge that the parents of the dead teen do not want Paiz released. Judge Cynthia Lamb agreed to detain him in the county jail pretrial.

Authorities said the 17-year-old boy traveled with a friend to where Paiz was living in Ringwood on or about Oct. 24 last year and purchased the drugs that the teen ingested and that caused his death.

The friend told detectives that he saw Paiz sell the teen the MDMA, and he identified Paiz in a lineup, Conroy said.

Conroy said that before the teen’s death, Paiz knew others had experienced adverse effects from his drug supply, yet he continued to sell. Conroy referred to messages on an app that Paiz used to conduct his alleged drug business. In one message, Conroy said, Paiz wrote that he had “no control” over what happened “when you buy enough [drugs] to kill a family.” Conroy said Paiz also wrote, “I have no way of controlling how much you take when you buy my whole stock.”

In other messages, Conroy said, Paiz seemingly showed “concern” and admitted that he knew his drugs were of “low quality” sold at “high prices.” He asked his buyers to tell him if they have “any problems” with his product because “I do my product myself,” Paiz wrote, according to the prosecutor.

Conroy pointed to messages and pictures that he said Paiz posted advertising “a menu” of drugs for sale. Paiz messaged that he was expecting more to be available and posted pictures of marijuana, baggies of powder and pressed pills, Conroy said. Paiz knew the teen had died and expressed his condolences on the app, yet continued selling drugs and fled, Conroy said.

Paiz “shows disregard” for the community, and it is “particularly concerning” that Paiz “had no problem selling to minors,” Conroy said.

But Assistant Public Defender David Giesinger pushed back on Conroy’s assertion that Paiz sold the teen the fatal dose. He said the teen had other drugs in his system and was a “regular user.” The teen also had expressed that he was suicidal, Giesinger said.

“We don’t know where the other drugs came from,” Giesinger said, adding that it is uncommon to die from MDMA. To die from the hallucinogenic drug, a person would have to ingest a large amount, he said. Additionally, the coroner only determined that Paiz died from “drug toxicity” and did not say specifically from which drug, the defense attorney said.

Giesinger argued for Paiz’s release, saying that he is not dangerous or a flight risk. At the time Paiz traveled to Florida, the case was impounded, and Paiz did not know there were charges against him, the public defender said. When arrested in the Miami airport, he was flying back to Chicago, Giesinger said.

He asked the judge to consider Paiz’s age and lack of criminal history. He said Paiz would surrender his passport, follow the rules of house arrest and live with his mother in McHenry.

But Lamb denied Giesinger’s petition for release with conditions. She said Paiz has no job and no connections to the community. The judge also said that although Giesinger claimed Paiz would live with his mother if released, Paiz never mentioned his mother when filling out an affidavit asking for a public defender. He is a danger and flight risk, Lamb concluded.

If convicted on the Class X felony, Paiz could be sentenced to up six to 30 years in prison. He is due back in court Oct. 3.