A Chicago man who supplied the heroin/fentanyl that killed a Naperville man has been given a 12-year prison term.
Shawn Smith, 33, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of drug induced homicide, a class X felony, and was sentenced in the death of the 23-year-old man who was found deceased on Nov. 27, 2022, in a bedroom of his family’s Naperville home, a news release from the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office said.
Naperville police learned of Smith’s role in the death and arranged to have undercover officers contact him to make an illegal purchase of drugs a few days later, the release said. They pulled him over en route to the meeting on Nov. 30, 2022, and took him into custody on an arrest warrant.
An autopsy determined the victim’s cause of death was fentanyl, heroin, diphenhydramine and trazodone toxicity, the release said. Trazodone was a prescribed drug and diphenhydramine is an over-the-counter antihistamine commonly known as Benadryl.
“Judge (Daniel) Guerin’s 12-year sentence today sends a message of deterrence to any would-be drug dealers that if you supply illegal drugs that result in the death of another person, you will be arrested, charged and face a significant amount of time behind bars if found guilty,” State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement.
“This young man’s tragic death is yet another stark reminder of the deadly consequences of illegal narcotics.”
Smith will be required to serve 75% of his sentence before being eligible for parole, the release said.
