Man sentenced to 9 years in fatal Cary overdose: ‘You will live the rest of your life with this’

A 23-year-old man was sentenced to nine years in prison Thursday for delivering a fatal dose of pain pills laced with fentanyl to a Cary man, a decision the judge said he “will live the rest of (his) life with.”

Jordan C. Schwamb of Antioch entered into a negotiated guilty plea to drug-induced homicide, which can carry a sentence of up to 30 years in prison.

He is required to serve at least 75% of the sentence and will be on mandatory supervised release for 18 months after he completes his prison term. He also is required to pay $998 in fees and fines.

Schwamb was accused of delivering a prescription painkiller laced with fentanyl to Vincent Isola on March 4, 2021, according to a criminal complaint and other court records.

Isola was found dead at his home that day, and an autopsy determined that he died from a fentanyl overdose, court records show.

During the sentencing hearing, Isola’s mother, Lynn Giannini Niewiadomski, holding up her son’s pictures, sobbed as she told Schwamb she has contemplated suicide since her son’s death. She said she hopes he has nightmares in prison as he has given her “a nightmare to last a lifetime.”

“I wouldn’t wish this on any family,” she said. “I am glad you got busted, and you are off the street.”

She went on to say she is “disappointed” in the judicial system and wishes that he would serve the maximum prison sentence.

“You are a danger to society, yourself and your community,” she said.

McHenry County Judge Michael Coppedge asked Schwamb if he wanted to make a statement, to which Schwamb turned to the family and said, “I am very sorry for what I did to the family. I’m very sorry. I apologize.”

Coppedge acknowledged the family “is not particularly pleased” with the nine-year sentence he was about to hand down, though he said he that there is no sentence that would ever bring back Isola or bring closure to the family.

To Schwamb, Coppedge said there is “a rawness of emotion, it is palpable, you can feel it.”

The only thing that would happen for the family with the acceptance of the negotiated plea would be keeping them from having to return to the courtroom and endure a trial, Coppedge said.

“Thirty years won’t appease the victims,” Coppedge said to Schwamb. “No sentence will bring him back. With thirty years, the loss is no less real. Their loss by your conduct is no less real. ... I cannot imagine what the family is feeling from this loss, a senseless loss.”

He told Schwamb his sentence will end and he is “young enough” that when released, he will “have the freedom to live the rest of your life, something this man and this family will not have. ... If you have a conscience, you will carry this with you the rest of your life. I hope your apology was sincere.”

Investigators discovered about five blue 30 mg pain pills that tested positive for fentanyl near Isola’s body, according to a motion filed by the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.

A search of Isola’s phone and social media indicated that he arranged to buy drugs, including the pain pills, from Schwamb, according to prosecutors’ motion.

A second man charged in Isola’s death, Keenan R. Queen, pleaded guilty in September to delivering less than a gram of fentanyl, a Class 2 felony, court records show. He is set to be sentenced Friday.

The prosecution planned to prove that on March 4, 2021, Queen facilitated the transaction between Schwamb and Isola, Assistant State’s Attorney Ken Hudson said, according to a transcript of the proceeding.

A Class 2 felony can carry three to seven years in prison plus 12 months of supervised release. It is also probational.