Man sentenced on drug charges

WOODSTOCK – One of the men accused of growing psilocybin mushrooms in a Cary home where an 18-year-old man was beaten and locked in a dog cage accepted a plea deal Friday.

Ricardo P. Montiel Jr., 28, of Arlington Heights, started his first of 10 weekends in jail after pleading guilty to unlawful possession of a controlled substance. He also was sentenced to two years of probation and a $2,500 fine.

In exchange for the former Cary man’s guilty plea, prosecutors dropped a handful of other drug charges.

Montiel could have been sentenced to between six and 30 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charge he had faced.

Police found the mushrooms and manufacturing equipment in the basement of a house in the 500 block of Krenz Avenue in the summer of 2007 as they were investigating a beating that had taken place there May 22, 2007, McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorney David Johnston said.

Montiel was not charged in connection with the beating, but he and two others were accused of pooling their money to buy the mushrooms and growing equipment as part of a criminal drug conspiracy.

Although he pleaded guilty, Montiel maintained that he was not part of the operation and was unaware that the drugs were in the house where he was living, defense attorney Steve McArdle said.

“It’s clear [his two codefendants] were pointing the finger at him,” McArdle said.

Andrew Shedivy, 23, of Cary, was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to the same possession charge, while the case against Kevin R. Turner, 22, of Elgin, is next due in court Friday.