Bartlett man charged in Campton Hills overdose death
A Bartlett man who authorities say was found with distinct logos on heroin packets seized during a traffic stop has been charged with drug-induced homicide stemming from the overdose death of a woman in July in Campton Hills.
Joseph P. Pryor, 41, of the 2000 block of Westridge Boulevard, was charged Friday with providing a fatal dose of heroin and fentanyl to Katherine A. Gehlhaar, 30, whose body was found July 6 at a house on the 41W0-99 block of Palomino Drive in Campton Hills.
Campton Hills police and the Kane County Heroin Initiative Task Force investigated, officials said.
Pryor, who was already being held at the jail on felony heroin charges, refused to go to bond call Saturday, court records show.
Judge Christine Downs added $250,000 bail to Pryor's case, bringing his bail to $325,000, meaning he must post $35,000 to be released from jail while the case is pending.
If convicted of drug-induced homicide, Pryor faces six to 30 years in prison with no chance of probation.
The charge in Gehlhaar's death came, in part, from a July traffic stop near Route 25 and Red Gate Road near St. Charles in which Pryor was talking on a cellphone.
Officers noticed numerous heroin packets in Pryor's center console and he admitted to possessing heroin for a future sale, according to court records. Officers seized 2.8 grams of heroin and noted each bag had a basketball or blue star logo, authorities said, and bags with the same logos were found near Gehlhaar's body.
Pryor also admitted that Gehlhaar died from the drugs provided by Pryor's drug source, according to a police affidavit used to secure a search warrant for Pryor's cellphone.
According to court records, Pryor was sentenced to seven years in prison after an August 2010 arrest in which he met an undercover officer at a bar on the 500 block of Randall Road in St. Charles. Pryor delivered 100 ecstasy pills to the officer, and as police moved in, he fled in his car, crashed and was arrested after a short foot chase.
Pryor is next due in court Tuesday. If convicted in the heroin possession case, he also faces a punishment of up to 15 years in prison.