Man gets jail for role in Naperville heroin case

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Updated: February 12, 2012 10:49AM

A 21-year-old Lemont man has been sentenced to 30 days in DuPage County Jail, following his arrest late last year in a heroin-related case in Naperville.

Emmanuel J. Ventouris is scheduled to begin serving his sentence on March 5, according to records on file in DuPage County Circuit Court. He will receive one day of credit toward that term for the day he spent in jail following his arrest.

Ventouris originally faced trial on a felony charge of possession of a controlled substance and a misdemeanor count of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. He was instead convicted of a charge of attempting to obstruct justice by providing false information to police, court records indicated.

Judge Blanche Hill Fawell on Thursday sentenced Ventouris to jail. Records showed Fawell also placed him on a month of conditional discharge and assessed fines and court costs totaling $295.

Members of the Naperville Police Department’s Special Operations Group on Dec. 14 curbed a vehicle near Market Street and Naper Boulevard, near the Mill Crossing/Mill Orchard shopping district. The vehicle was occupied by Ventouris, driver John C. Kacena and another passenger, Russell F. Tucek.

Police stopped the vehicle after receiving a tip from a “concerned citizen,” Sgt. Gregg Bell said in December. Heroin and an assortment of drug paraphernalia were allegedly found inside the vehicle, Bell said.

All three men were taken to the police station for fingerprinting, photographing and processing. Tucek is an ex-convict, and while at the station, allegedly ingested or inserted into his body at least two small plastic bags containing heroin. He spent four days in Edward Hospital in Naperville, until the packets had passed through his system.

Tucek, 26, lives on the 2300 block of Weatherford Lane, in the Old Farm neighborhood on Naperville’s south side. He remained Friday night in jail and is scheduled to appear Thursday in court, where he is to be tried on charges of possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

Kacena, 19, lives on the 2200 block of Flambeau Drive, in the Springbrook Crossings area of Naperville. He is free on bond and set to appear March 21 in court on charges of possession of a controlled substance, following another vehicle too closely, improper lane usage and failure to signal when turning.