TTW, news service
Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announces that Saul Nunez, 45, of Shorewood, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for selling fentanyl to a 25-year-old man who died from an overdose in Shorewood in 2017. Nunez pled guilty Monday to one count of Drug Induced Homicide, a Class X felony, and one count of Delivery of a Controlled Substance, a Class 2 felony. Nunez was sentenced by Circuit Judge Daniel Rippy to 10 years in prison for the Class X felony to be served concurrently with a 3-year sentence for the Class 2 felony.
The victim, Christopher Shanine of Shorewood, was found June 23, 2017, face down on the ground in the yard of the home of the defendant who was living with his parents. Shorewood police analyzed the victim’s cell phone and observed that he had been in contact with the defendant through video, voice, and text messages spanning from the previous evening into the early morning hours of June 23, 2017. In one text, Nunez wrote “I’ll have it prepared,” and in another, texted “come now.” Following the execution of a search warrant, police recovered syringes full of a liquid substance later confirmed to a contain a mixture of morphine, heroin, and fentanyl at Nunez’ residence. An autopsy revealed the victim died of fentanyl and heroin intoxication.
“Saul Nunez is the 17th Will County defendant to receive a prison sentence for dealing deadly poison that causes the death of another. Although these cases are often extremely difficult to investigate, our police departments and my office are committed to doing everything we can to take dealers who sell deadly drugs like fentanyl off our streets,” said State’s Attorney Glasgow. “In 2021, 147 people in Will County died from overdoses, and 140 of those overdoses were opioid related. We need to remain vigilant in combatting this public health crisis in our community.”
Since 2009, the State’s Attorney’s Office has charged 20 defendants in Drug Induced Homicide cases; two of these cases are pending and another was dismissed following the death of a witness. The remaining 17 defendants, including Nunez, have received prison sentences totaling 137 years.
Fentanyl is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin. Glasgow noted that the Drug Enforcement Administration has developed a “Faces of Fentanyl” exhibit to share the stories and commemorate the lives lost from fentanyl poisoning. Individuals who have lost loved ones to fentanyl may submit their stories including the name, age, and photo of the individual tofentanylawareness@dea.gov, or post a photo and the loved one’s name to social media using the hashtag #justKNOW.
The State’s Attorney credited the Shorewood Police Department and Retired Detective Jason Keehma for pursuing an aggressive investigation, Assistant State’s Attorneys Peter Wilkes and Adam Capelli for securing a prison sentence in this case, and Victim Witness Advocate Mallory Magee for her sensitivity in working with the victim’s family.