A woman sentenced to probation and work release last July for the delivery of heroin that led to the overdose death of a Vernon Hills High School student was sent back to jail Friday, after prosecutors said she had tested positive for the drug.
Judge Mark Levitt ordered Michelle Lee, who was already in custody, to Lake County Jail until her next hearing. The judge’s decision formally reimposed her previous sentence of periodic imprisonment, which was conditionally lifted while she complied with probation requirements and treatment.
Assistant State’s Attorney Jim Newman requested the action after telling the judge that Lee had recently tested positive for heroin for a second time since the fall, this time while participating in an inpatient drug rehabilitation program.
Levitt set Lee’s next court date as March 18. In the meantime, Lee can only be released from jail for temporary purposes, such as treatment, if requested by probation officials and approved by a judge.
Lee, a former Gurnee resident, was convicted of delivery of a controlled substance after selling $40 worth of heroin to three Vernon Hills High School friends. Authorities said the three teens pooled their money to purchase the drug and then snorted it at Butler Lake Park in Libertyville in the early evening of Oct. 7, 2011.
One of the girls, a 15-year-old, died at her home later that night or early the next morning after initially being treated for an overdose at a local hospital.
Levitt sentenced Lee late last July to 30 months of intensive probation, including 18 months of periodic imprisonment, during which she was only to be released from jail for school, treatment or probation activities.
He also sentenced her to 200 hours of public service and said she would be randomly tested for drug and alcohol use.
Newman said her periodic imprisonment had been lifted after she had shown signs of success in treatment, although she remained on probation.
After Friday’s hearing, Lee’s attorney, Jason Powell, said Lee “had some hiccups” in her treatment, but “everyone is rooting for her.”
The judge offered some encouragement after ordering her jailed until the March 18 hearing.
“I know there are some bumps, but you can succeed,” Levitt told Lee.
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