A Lake County felon was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison for unlawfully possessing a pistol and illicit drugs found during a traffic stop in McHenry.
In January, John T. Boland, 41, of Antioch was found guilty by a McHenry County jury of possession with intent to deliver 15 to 100 grams of cocaine, armed violence and being an armed habitual criminal, all Class X felonies; he was also convicted of unlawful possession of weapons by a felon and possessing less than five grams of methamphetamine, court records show.
Boland maintained at his sentencing hearing Friday that the drugs and gun were not his, a prosecutor said.
Boland was arrested on May 3, 2024, by McHenry police after stopping a Mercedes-Benz driven by a woman. Boland was a passenger in the vehicle where police found a black backpack that contained cocaine, authorities said. The woman was not charged.
While police searched the vehicle they briefly detained Boland and put him in the backseat of the squad car. They later found a 9mm Glock 43 in the back of the squad car where Boland had been sitting, according to a court document.
“A review of squad video shows [Boland] shoving the gun in between the seats,” Assistant State’s Attorney Shelby Page wrote in a motion in the McHenry County court.
The prosecutor said jurors saw the video of Boland cuffed in the back of the squad and kicking the gun out of his pant leg. Though the video did not clearly show the pistol jurors did see Boland shoving “something” between the seats, Page said. A DNA expert testified at the trial that Boland’s DNA was on the gun found between the seats.
In 2022, Boland was convicted in Lake County of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, a Class X felony. This conviction was the result of Lake County Metropolitan Enforcement Group finding 480.9 grams of heroin, a scale with white residue on it and packaging materials in his home, authorities said.
Boland was arrested after police received information that a package had been mailed to Boland’s house from Mexico containing heroin. The heroin was discovered when the package arrived in a postal center in Tennessee and it was scanned, Page said.
Lake County authorities were notified and when the package arrived in Illinois a sensor was added to the package tracking it into Boland’s home, Page said.
He was sentenced to eight years in prison, documents show. With credit for time served and Illinois truth-in-sentencing laws Boland was released from Sheridan Correctional Center on Nov. 6, 2023, and was on parol when charged in the McHenry case, records show.
Page said “several” photos from Boland’s phone were shown to Judge Tiffany Davis during Friday’s sentencing hearing “of numerous firearms as soon as two weeks after he was placed on parole, photos of bricks of cocaine and text messages about drug dealing.”
In a news release issued Friday, McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi Freese emphasized the seriousness of the offenses and the importance of removing armed offenders from the community.
“The combination of illegal drugs and firearms poses a significant threat to public safety, and we will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to ensure those who engage in this dangerous conduct are brought to justice,” Freese said.
Freese commended the coordinated efforts of the City of McHenry Police Department, Grayslake Police Department, McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office for their collaborative efforts in this investigation and their ongoing commitment to public safety. She also recognized the critical contributions of forensic scientists at the Northern Illinois Regional Crime Lab (NIRCL) for their expert analysis and testimony.
Boland is required to serve half his prison term and is receiving credit for 686 days served in the county jail since his arrest. When released from prison he will be on mandatory supervised release for 18 months, Page said.