Drug charge claims: Homicide dismissed over jurisdictional issues

A case in Madison County has taken a positive turn for a man accused in the death of a young woman. The man had been facing drug charges after a 17-year-old girl passed away from a drug overdose. The man had allegedly given the teen the drugs that lead to her death.

The drug charge dismissal came after a motion was filed showing the heroin delivery apparently occurred in another state and the state of Illinois had no jurisdiction to prosecute.

The incident occurred on Jan. 11, 2011. The man, accompanied by two females, had allegedly purchased heroin from a residence in St. Louis. Shortly after the purchase, the man ingested four “buttons” of heroin. Immediately following the hits he passed out. He had to be taken to the hospital and administered a drug to counter his opiate overdose. According to records, the man came close to dying.

In a panic, one of the female passengers disposed of her heroin buttons out the vehicle’s window. She thought that the other passenger also disposed of her drugs. It was later found out she in fact had kept some of the heroin.

Later the same evening, the man spent the night at the victim’s parent’s house, along with the victim. The 17-year-old who apparently had not thrown the drugs out decided to take the drugs she had retained. She sent a text message to the other female passenger telling her that she had kept her heroin and had just taken “a button-and-a-half.”