Woodstock man pleads guilty to cocaine possession, gets 6-year prison term; fentanyl, dealing charges dropped

A Woodstock man has pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of cocaine and was sentenced to six years in prison, court records show.

Last May, when Julius Williams, 42, was initially charged with possession of cocaine and also possessing fentanyl, he was out of Mchenry County jail on cash bonds in two previous cases.

Williams, who also has addresses in Harvard and Marengo listed in court and jail records, pleaded guilty last week to unlawful possession of cocaine, a Class 1 felony, according to the judgment order filed in McHenry County court.

He is required to serve half his prison term, followed by one year of mandatory supervised release, the order said. He will receive credit for 294 days served in the county jail.

In exchange for his guilty plea, additional, more serious charges were dismissed, including manufacturing and delivery of 15 to 100 grams of cocaine and possession and manufacturing and delivery of 15 to 100 grams of fentanyl, Class X felonies. A charge of possession of drug paraphernalia also was dismissed, according to court records.

Had he been convicted on the more serious Class X felony, he could have been sentenced up to 30 years in prison.

When arrested May 22, detectives found 42 grams of fentanyl-laced cocaine at Williams’ residence, packed into seven different bags; packaging material; and a digital scale, according to the order to detain Williams in county jail following his arrest, signed by Judge Mark Facchini.

The judge also noted Williams' criminal history that Facchini wrote was “indicative of a violent, abusive and assaultive behavior, including convictions for domestic battery, unlawful possession of controlled substance, DUI, among others.”

The judge said Williams also was a flight risk, noting Williams’ failure to appear in court on April 17, 2023 while he was out on cash bond in two criminal felony cases from 2022 and 2023 “and has had at least 15 failure to appear warrants on his criminal history.”

Williams committed the 2024 offenses while out on cash bond in two pending cases, showing he could not “cooperate with the conditions set in those pending cases,” the judge said.

In February, Williams pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of marijuana related to the 2022 case and was sentenced to 30 months in prison, a judgment order said. Charges of fleeing and eluding police, obstruction of justice and driving under the influence were dismissed, records show.

He was accused of obstructing justice by refusing to submit urine and blood in compliance with a lawful search warrant issued by a judge on Aug. 1, 2022, court records show. This followed a police chase in Harvard by vehicle then on foot, criminal complaints and indictment said.

Williams also pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated battery in the 2023 case and was sentenced to 30 months of prison, a judgment order said. The case stems from an accusation that Williams punched a man outside a Harvard bar, court records said.

Both sentences, which include six months of mandatory supervised release, will be served at 50% and concurrently with the six-year prison term, records said.