Woodstock man charged with possessing, delivering meth

A 42-year-old Woodstock man faces decades in prison after he was charged Wednesday with possessing with the intent to deliver 15 to 100 grams of methamphetamine, court records show.

The most serious charged filed against Patrick J. Slocum, of the 900 block of Bunker Street, is a Class X felony, which if convicted of, can carry a prison sentence of six to 30 years in prison and is not probational. He also faces three other lower felonies related to methamphetamine possession and delivery.

Prosecutors asked that Slocum undergo weekly drug testing as a condition of bond, which was set at $100,000. He would need to post 10% in order to be released.

“Aside from the obvious risk that the Defendant creates to himself by misusing illegal drugs, the Defendant’s drug use represents a danger to the community given the very high likelihood that the Defendant will commit additional crimes while illegally using drugs,” Assistant State’s Attorney Maria Marek said in the motion. “In view of the fact that 44 people overdosed and died last year in McHenry County, the danger posed is not just to property, but to human life.”

The prosecutors’ request was denied, according to the judge’s order.

Overdose deaths in McHenry County have been trending downward over the past few years, from a high of 70 in 2017 to 39 in 2021, McHenry County officials have said. The McHenry County Department of Health said the total number of reported overdose deaths may by agency vary based on whether suicides are excluded.

McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally has credited this reduction to an approach that combines expanded access to treatment with aggressive prosecution.

“We seek prison for all opioid dealers, high bonds and pretrial drug testing for anyone possessing opioids, and jail for failed drug screens,” Kenneally said in a March guest column. “In short, we treat illicit opioid users who refuse to access or cooperate with treatment as the potential mortal danger they are to themselves and often others.”

Slocum is due back in court Friday morning. His request to have a public defender appointed was denied Wednesday and he does not have a private attorney listed in court records.