Stillman Valley man scheduled to appear in court April 3 on drug, handgun charges

OREGON – A Stillman Valley man, charged with possessing and intending to deliver 15 to 100 grams of a substance containing fentanyl is scheduled to appear in court April 3 for a preliminary hearing.

Seth J. Rudecki, 22, was arrested March 21 and appeared before Ogle County Judge Anthony Peska on March 22 for a detention hearing.

He also is charged with possessing and intending to deliver 2,000 to 5,000 grams of a substance containing cannabis, possessing five to 20 cannabis sativa plants, and possessing a handgun without having a firearm owner’s identification card.

According to court documents, all of the charges occurred on or about March 21.

Rudecki appeared in court with his attorney, Ogle County Public Defender William Gibbs, and Assistant State’s Attorney Matthew Leisten.

Leisten argued that Rudecki should not be released from custody, but Penska ruled that prosecutors had not met the burden for detainment and released Rudecki with the following conditions: He must report to the Ogle County Probation Office, submit to general orders of the court, submit to random drug tests as directed by the probation department, refrain from using illegal drugs and obtain a substance abuse assessment.

According to the Department of Drug Enforcement Agency, fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as an analgesic (pain relief) and anesthetic. It is about 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as an analgesic, according to the DEA’s fact sheet.

Street names for fentanyl include Apace, China Girl, China Town, Dance Fever, Friend, Goodfellas, Great Bear, He-Man, Jackpot, King Ivory, Murder 8, Poison and Tango & Cash, according to the DEA.

Fentanyl is “snorted/sniffed, smoked, [taken] orally by pill or tablet, spiked onto blotter paper, patches, sold alone or in combination with heroin and other substances,” the DEA said, adding that it has been identified in fake pills mimicking pharmaceutical drugs such as oxycodone.

“Clandestinely produced fentanyl is encountered either as a powder or in fake tablets and is sold alone or in combination with other drugs such as heroin or cocaine,” the DEA said. “Two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal depending on a person’s body size, tolerance and past usage.”

Rudecki’s preliminary status hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. April 3 in front of Judge John Redington.