The final man arrested in a major Lake County Sheriff’s Office operation targeting heroin sales this summer pleaded not guilty to drug-induced homicide charges Thursday.
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Darrin S. Reed, 32, of Waukegan, pleaded not guilty to charges of drug-induced homicide and unlawful delivery of a controlled substance before Lake County Circuit Judge Daniel Shanes.
Reed is charged with delivering the heroin that killed Joseph Bond, 25, of unincorporated Antioch, according to sheriff’s office officials and prosecutors. Bond died of an overdose in Antioch Township on June 13, according to officials.
Reed is being held in Lake County Jail on $950,000 bail.
Shanes noted that Reed has several other previous pending cases, one of the most serious involving Class X felony charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.
Reed’s arrest on the drug-induced homicide charge last month capped a three-month effort by the sheriff’s office dubbed Operation Front Line, which targeted suspected heroin and opiate dealers.
Shanes set a trial date of Dec. 12 for Reed, with a status hearing scheduled Oct. 21.
Sheriff’s office spokesman Det. Christopher Covelli said a search warrant executed at Reed’s home resulted in the discovery of 22 grams of heroin and nearly $6,000 in cash.
A total of 53 people were charged with drug crimes as a result of Operation Front Line, Covelli said.
The operation specifically focused on the northwest quadrant of Lake County, he said, with participants including members of the sheriff’s Highway Patrol Division, Warrants Division, Criminal Investigations Division, and the sheriff’s Gang Task Force.
Covelli said members of the Highway Patrol Division identified target areas of drug trafficking in patrol districts, worked with informants to develop additional leads on drug dealers, and provided those leads to the Criminal Investigations Division and Sheriff’s Gang Task Force. The Highway Patrol Division cultivated more than 15 active leads, which led to several drug-related arrests.
Officials said investigations continue regarding several additional drug dealers who were identified during Operation Front Line.
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