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CHICAGO - A Bolingbrook man has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison in connection with a fatal fentanyl overdose in Kane County.
Eric L. Jones, 54, was sentenced to 12.5 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections after a jury found him guilty of drug-induced homicide earlier this year, according to a statement from the Kane County State's Attorney's Office.
The backstory:
Prosecutors said the case stems from November 2022, when 27-year-old Niko Ramirez arranged to buy drugs from Jones. On the evening of Nov. 26, Jones delivered 10 fentanyl pills to Ramirez at his home in Aurora.
Eric L. Jones (Kane County State's Attorney's Office)
Authorities said Ramirez later took one of the pills. The next morning, his roommate found him unresponsive and called 911. First responders arrived at the home in the 500 block of Hartford Avenue, where Ramirez was pronounced dead.
An autopsy later determined he died from fentanyl intoxication.
Investigators with the Aurora Police Department spent nearly two years building the case. Jones was eventually arrested in Elgin in November 2024 by members of the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force.
Following a trial, a jury convicted Jones of the Class X felony on Feb. 6, 2026.
What they're saying:
Assistant State’s Attorney Jake Matekaitis said Ramirez’s family continues to cope with the loss.
"No sentence will ever bring him back, but hopefully this provides them with a sense of justice," Matekaitis said in a statement. "The defendant is a danger to the community, and this lengthy prison sentence keeps the defendant behind bars where he belongs."
What's next:
Under Illinois law, Jones must serve at least 75% of his sentence. He was also given credit for 525 days already served in the Kane County jail.
The Source: Details for this story were provided in a statement from the Kane County State's Attorney's Office.