Streator woman pleads guilty to drug charge, receives 4-year sentence

A Streator woman once charged in the near-miss shooting of a drug agent pleaded guilty Thursday to a lesser offense and was sentenced to four years in prison.

Alaina J. Cravatta, 27, at one point was charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm after a controlled buy Sept. 29 in Streator, where a shot was fired during her arrest.

Cravatta didn’t pull the trigger but was charged under the accountability theory.

On Thursday, however, Cravatta appeared in La Salle County Circuit Court, and attorneys presented the judge with a negotiated plea.

Prosecutors dismissed the firearm charge, and Cravatta, who had no previous criminal history, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, a Class 2 felony carrying a sentence of three to seven years in prison.

“I just want to say I’m sorry, your honor,” Cravatta told Judge Cynthia M. Raccuglia when offered a chance to speak.

Cravatta might not be in prison long. She has 335 days already served plus the equivalent of 140 days accrued through drug counseling and is eligible for day-for-day good time in the Department of Corrections. She could be paroled in early 2024.

Cravatta and 21-year-old Courtney Perkins were taken into custody Sept. 29 after a sting operation conducted at a Streator car wash.

There, Cravatta delivered 20 ecstasy pills to an undercover agent with the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Narcotics Team who exchanged the pills for $350. The agent then placed Cravatta under arrest.

Perkins reportedly observed the deal from a few yards away and fired off a shot that missed the agent. He was charged with multiple felonies, but a La Salle County jury recently acquitted him of attempted murder.

Perkins faces a minimum of 27 years on his remaining charges when he is sentenced Oct. 26.