Man accused of selling hallucinogenic mushrooms pleads guilty to cocaine charge, gets 8 years

A Round Lake Heights man accused last year of delivering hallucinogenic mushrooms pleaded guilty Friday in McHenry County court to a charge of delivering cocaine and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Joseph L. Dean, 21, pleaded guilty to manufacturing and delivery of 1 to 15 grams of cocaine, a Class 1 felony, according to the judgment order.

He initially was charged with possessing and delivering 50 to 200 grams of psilocybin, a type of hallucinogenic mushroom, on June 16, 2023, according to the criminal complaint and indictment. Prosecutors alleged that four days later, on June 20, and again July 6 and Aug. 2, Dean possessed and delivered 1 to 15 grams of cocaine in McHenry County.

On Aug. 16, Dean was accused of possessing and delivering to a Spring Grove-area address 15 to 100 grams of cocaine, a Class X felony, according to the complaint. A Class X conviction could have sent him to prison for 30 years.

He is required to serve half of his prison term and will receive credit for 316 days spent in the county jail. When released, he will serve 12 months of mandatory supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Lake County Metropolitan Enforcement Group a multijurisdictional law enforcement task force that investigates drug trafficking and distribution, gang activity and weapon offenses in Lake County.

In a petition detaining Dean in the county jail, pretrial Judge Jeffrey Altman said Dean poses “a real and present threat to the community specifically regarding the ongoing and escalating nature of the offense.”

The judge noted that Dean was on pretrial release in Lake County at the time that he committed the alleged McHenry County offenses.

In Lake County, Dean is charged with possessing with the intent to deliver 15.5 grams of cocaine, a Class X felony, as well as possession of cocaine and possession of and possession with the intent to deliver 110 grams of marijuana, according to Lake County court records. That case still is pending.

His attorney declined to comment.