Crystal Lake man acquitted of drug-induced homicide receives probation for heroin possession

A Crystal Lake man was sentenced Thursday to probation in connection with a 22-year-old Elgin woman’s fatal overdose.

McHenry County Judge Robert Wilbrandt sentenced 24-year-old Sabastian L. Zarbock to 180 days in jail and two years of probation. Since Zarbock has been in custody since June 6, 2020, his jail sentence is considered served.

Zarbock and another man, 29-year-old Rufus McGee, were arrested after the May 28, 2019, death of Shannon Finn. McGee pleaded not guilty to three counts of drug-induced homicide stemming from Finn’s heroin overdose death.

Zarbock originally was accused of assisting Finn, 22, in arranging a heroin deal shortly before she died.

Following a February trial, however, Wilbrandt found that Zarbock had no direct role in the drug delivery, and instead, was in pursuit of drugs for his own use. The judge ultimately acquitted Zarbock of drug-induced homicide and instead found him guilty of possession of a controlled substance.

“He was there for the purpose of being with Miss Finn and with the hope that Miss Finn would give him some heroin, which she did,” Wilbrandt said in court on Thursday.

Conditions of his probation include that he must attend counseling, refrain from drug and alcohol use, and attempt to find employment. He also must submit to drug testing at least once a week for the first six months of his sentence, Wilbrandt ordered.

McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorney Brian Miller asked the judge to sentence Zarbock to an extended term of six years in prison based on a prior drug conviction. Otherwise, Miller said, prosecutors preferred a sentence of probation instead of prison, since Zarbock would likely be released within weeks once time served was accounted for.

“The defendant would get out, and he’d be out on the streets again without supervision,” Miller said.

Zarbock also was in favor of probation as a means to prove to himself and his family that he can maintain sobriety, Special Public Defender Thomas Carroll said.

“He’s as clean as he’s ever been in his life, quite frankly, since about 12,” Carroll said. “And he feels good about that right now.”

Zarbock, whose parents each struggled with addiction, took drugs the first time when he was 12 years old, according to a McHenry County Department of Court Services report. He now believes his 2019 arrest saved his life, according to the report, which was quoted in open court.

“We acknowledge that it could have just as easily have been Sabastian who is deceased,” said Carroll, Zarbock’s attorney.

While serving his sentence, Zarbock will stay with an uncle whom he views as a “father figure,” the 24-year-old told a probation officer.

Wilbrandt has previously said that prosecutors’ case against Zarbock was a “novel legal theory” for him regarding drug-induced homicide. That’s because prosecutors tried to hold Zarbock “legally accountable” for a heroin delivery he was present for, but perhaps not responsible for.

On Thursday, Wilbrandt noted that Zarbock’s case was reflective of the opioid problem throughout the country and specifically within McHenry County.

“I don’t think we can get out of it by just locking up everyone who has this problem,” Wilbrandt said.