DuPage County Man Charged in Heroin Death of Teen

Written by Charles Menchaca (Editor)

Glen Ellyn Police detectives were directly involved in an investigation that led to a Hanover Park man being charged Friday in connection with the heroin overdose death of a 15-year-old boy, the DuPage County State’s Attorney's Office said.

Nolan E. McMahon, 18, of Hanover Park, was charged with drug induced homicide in the July 10 death of John Dudek. Judge Timothy McJoynt set McMahon's bail at $1 million Friday afternoon, according to a news release.

It is alleged that Dudek, along with another teenage boy, went to Nolan McMahon’s residence and purchased multiple bags of heroin on the evening of July 9 and in the early morning hours of July 10, the release said.

Dudek then returned home and ingested the heroin. On the afternoon of July 10, paramedics were called to Dudek’s home where they found him unresponsive. 

"He was declared deceased on the scene," Berlin said in the release. "A subsequent autopsy was performed and the cause of death was determined to be a heroin overdose."

DuPage County is seeing a massive spike this year in deaths from heroin overdoses, the Daily Herald reported, including 33 in 2013 as of mid-July with 15 in the first half of July alone.

An investigation by Bartlett police determined that Dudek had purchased the heroin from McMahon shortly before his death. A search warrant was executed on McMahon's residence and revealed additional heroin inside the home. The DuPage County Major Crimes Task Force assisted in the follow-up investigation.

The drug induced homicide charge is a Class X felony. If convicted, McMahon faces up to 30 years in an Illinois prison, according to sentencing guidelines in the current state statute. 

DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin and Bartlett Police Chief Kent Williams praised the excellent and collaborative work of Bartlett police and the DuPage County Major Crimes Task Force, including detectives from the Addison, Villa Park, Glen Ellyn and Hanover Park police departments, without whose cooperation the investigation would not have concluded so quickly.

"This case is yet another terrible reminder of the extreme danger and the scourge that heroin has become in our community," Berlin said in the release. "The people who peddle heroin to our young kids are literally killing them. These charges today send a clear message that if you deliver drugs and cause injury or death to another person, you risk going to the penitentiary for up to thirty years." 

McMahon's arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 16.

"We will not tolerate drug dealers preying upon our children," Williams said in the release. "We will find you, arrest you and bring you to justice."