Unrelated drug charges in McHenry County might complicate plea negotiations for Joseph Crisara III, charged in Lake County with drug-induced homicide in the death of a Mundelein man last year.
At a Tuesday hearing, defense attorney Eric Rinehart told Judge Victoria Rossetti he and Assistant State’s Attorney Reginald Mathews have been meeting on the case and “we might have something to present in September.”
After the hearing, Rinehart confirmed he was referring to a possible plea deal for Crisara, 29, a McHenry County resident charged in February with drug-induced homicide related to the death of 27-year-old Jason Erickson.
Relatives found Erickson unresponsive in the bedroom of his Mundelein home Dec. 26, 2015, according to Mundelein police.
But Rinehart and Mathews told the judge they still need more details about what Rinehart called “serious drug charges” Crisara faces in McHenry County. Rossetti set a new court date for Sept. 22.
Crisara is currently scheduled for trial Oct. 11.
Rinehart said whatever the outcome of the Lake County case — and the McHenry County case — any potential sentences stemming from the two unrelated cases would be served concurrently, not consecutively, based on the timing of the charges in each case.
Crisara remains in the custody of the Lake County Jail with bail set at $200,000.
After Erickson was found in his bedroom, responding officers gave him a dose of Naloxone, a medication that can reverse the effects of opioids, but the effort was unsuccessful and he was later pronounced dead at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, according to police.
Mundelein police have described Crisara as a “known drug dealer” who had served prison time for a prior conviction on a manufacturing or delivery of a controlled substance charge.
After Erickson died, investigators examined his phone and found information connecting him and Crisara, according to police. Crisara was arrested during the execution of a search warrant at his home.
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