In an 11th-hour plea deal, a Gurnee man pleaded guilty to drug-induced homicide Monday just before jury selection was to begin in his trial.
In a deal approved by Lake County Circuit Judge Mark Levitt, Kareem Perkins, 33, pleaded guilty to one count of drug-induced homicide in the death of a 22-year-old Waukegan resident and was sentenced to eight years in prison, to be served at 75 percent.
In exchange for the plea, a separate charge of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver was dropped, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Jim Newman.
Perkins pleaded Monday morning, when jury selection was scheduled to begin for his trial on the charges.
“We believe this plea is in the interest of justice,” Newman said after the sentence was approved. He noted that Perkins pleaded guilty to the most serious charge he faced.
Perkins made no comment to the court as the plea deal was completed.
Perkins was charged with drug-induced homicide in the March 14, 2014, death of Christopher Tiskus. Waukegan police were called on that date to a home in the 400 block of Keller Avenue at 10:20 p.m. for a person who was not breathing.
Officers found Tiskus dead at the scene, and it was determined he died from a drug overdose, according to authorities. Waukegan Gang Intelligence Unit detectives took Perkins into custody three days later.
When Perkins was arrested, police found cocaine in his possession, leading to the charge that was dismissed as part of the negotiated deal, Newman said. The charges against Perkins involved both heroin and cocaine, officials said.
Drug -induced homicide is a Class X felony with a sentencing range of six to 30 years in prison upon conviction.
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Perkins will receive credit for the 961 days he has spent in Lake County Jail, according to Newman, who said that serving the remainder of his sentence at 75 percent will result in Perkins spending three to three and a half years in prison after he is transferred from the jail.
A co-defendant in the case, Haitham Qasem, also of Gurnee, accepted a plea deal in a the case last in 2015.
In the negotiated plea deal, Qasem pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, a Class 1 felony, and was sentenced by Levitt to 36 months of probation and 36 months of periodic imprisonment.
Qasem had already served 375 days in Lake County Jail, officials said.
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