Drug Dealer Gets 8 Years For Deadly Heroin Dose

JOLIET, IL — A drug dealer got eight years in prison for selling a deadly dose of heroin to a teenage girl who died from a heroin overdose.

Joseph Alksnis, 26, was sentenced to another 10 year for selling heroin to an undercover cop. Alksnis pleaded guilty in both cases and will serve the two sentences at the same time.

The teen who overdosed, Heather Watson of Braidwood, was found dead in her mom's car outside a Wilmington apartment complex in March 2013.

"Wilmington police analyzed the (Watson's) cell phone and discovered she had been in contact with an individual who lived inside the apartment complex," according to a statement released by the Will County State's Attorney's Office. "The police investigation would reveal that (she) and this individual had purchased the heroin from Alksnis for $40. They injected the heroin together, after which Watson drove this individual back to the apartment complex where she was later found dead."

Alksnis was arrested and jailed a year after Watson’s death for selling heroin to the undercover cop. He wasn't charged with Watson's drug-induced homicide until May 2015.

State's Attorney James Glasgow boasted of prosecuting 17 alleged drug-induced homicides in the last eight-plus years.

"Joseph Alksnis is the 10th defendant to receive a prison sentence for dealing this deadly poison, while the remaining cases are pending in court,” Glasgow said. “These cases are often extremely difficult to investigate, but our police departments and my office are committed to taking heroin dealers off our streets and ending this public health crisis.”

Joseph Alksnis | image via Will County Sheriff's Department