McHenry woman with past conviction tied to a Woodstock fatal overdose faces new cocaine charges

A McHenry woman who has served prison time for her part in the 2019 fatal overdose of a Woodstock woman has been charged with new, serious cocaine offenses.

Samantha Hagler, 46, of the 3800 block of Main Street, is accused of possession with the intent to deliver 15 to 100 grams of cocaine, a Class X felony, according to the criminal complaint and information in McHenry County court.

Hagler participated an initial appearance hearing Tuesday, at which Judge Jeffrey Hirsch referred to her previous conviction and wrote in a pretrial detention order that her “recent criminal history for a similar drug offense closely mirrors the facts of this case, and the specific facts of this case establish possession with an intent to deliver.”

Hagler’s “prior sentence has not deterred her from the same conduct in this case,” and no conditions that could be placed or her release “can mitigate the real and present threat she poses to the community,” Hirsch said, detaining Hagler in the county jail.

She was arrested about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday in Wonder Lake and allegedly had “in her possession 17 grams of crack cocaine, scales and jeweler bags,” according to the criminal complaint.

In 2021, Hagler, formerly of Wisconsin, was sentenced to prison for four years after pleading guilty to a single count of delivering a controlled substance, according to court records and past Northwest Herald reporting.

In that case, prosecutors said that another man, Alexander Rulford, provided Hagler with crack cocaine in April 2019 and that Hagler then gave a portion of the drugs to Valerie Underwood, who died April 16, 2019, as a result. In exchange for Hagler’s plea in that case, McHenry County prosecutors dismissed additional charges, including drug-induced homicide, records show.

In 2022, Rulford, of Woodstock, pleaded guilty to manufacturing and delivering 1 to 15 grams of cocaine and was sentenced to eight years in prison. Additional charges were dismissed including drug-induced homicide, records show.

On April 16, 2019, the Woodstock Police Department received a call from Underwood’s friend reporting that she’d found the woman dead in Underwood’s Silver Creek apartment.

Hagler tearfully made a statement at that sentencing hearing and asked for probation to allow her to continue with substance abuse and mental health treatment. Although Hagler has gone through substance abuse treatment in the past, she said it was only then that she began to address traumatic childhood experiences that may be at the root of her addiction.

“I’m just hoping for the chance to prove that I can be a better person,” Hagler said during her sentencing hearing in 2021.

Hagler, who now faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted on the Class X felony, was removed from mandatory supervised release May 4, 2022, and discharged May 4, 2023, a spokesperson from the Illinois Department of Corrections said. She is due in court Tuesday.