A Kankakee, Illinois man avoided prison Friday for dealing drugs to a Schererville woman who fatally overdosed.
Yancy Craig, 66, pleaded guilty in October to involuntary manslaughter. He faced up to one to six years in prison.
He was charged with selling fentanyl to Sara Anderson, 25, of Schererville, the day before her March 20, 2021, death, court records allege.
Filled with grief, Anderson’s father, Timothy, said at a hearing in January that his daughter’s first boyfriend introduced her to drugs in the Lake Central marching band, setting off a cycle of rehab and relapse for the rest of her life. When she died, she left behind a young son.
“We fought a war, and we lost it,” he said then.
On Friday, lawyers clashed on whether additional evidence should factor into Craig’s sentencing.
Late in the January hearing, Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Dafoe alleged that a witness said in a deposition that Craig sold drugs even after Sara’s death.
Defense lawyer Andrea Bonds contested it, saying no accusations had been made in the case’s evidence file.
On Friday, Schererville Det. Anthony Buonadonna testified he and a partner were doing an unrelated drug case in November when a criminal informant said she bought heroin from Craig years earlier.
Buonadonna said the informant messaged Craig to buy drugs, but it never happened.
“I want to see you,” Craig told her.
Buonadonna said the informant believed Craig wanted sex for the drugs and declined, telling the detective he had a “history of that,” the officer said in court.
When Bonds pressed him, the detective agreed neither actually happened. The allegation was based on the woman’s “speculation,” the lawyer said.
Dafoe asked for six years in prison, arguing Craig took advantage of Anderson’s addiction.
Bonds argued Craig was also at “war” with a drug addiction, although he had been sober since 2010.
Sara Anderson was a “friend” and he didn’t intend to kill her. Craig had “zero” police contacts after Anderson’s death, Bonds said. It had a “profound” effect on his sobriety, she argued.
If he was clean since 2010, why was he selling drugs, Judge Samuel Cappas asked Bonds.
In relationships, people can supply drugs to lessen suffering, Bonds told him, akin to what Craig’s sister testified in January.
“We’re not saying he was clean the whole time,” Bonds said.
Craig turned toward Timothy Anderson and apologized.
Anderson briefly shook his head and appeared to hunch over and look down.
“I made a bad choice that day, a terrible choice,” Craig said.
About 48 million people in the United States struggle with drug or alcohol abuse, according to the New York Times.
