Cocaine Dealt To Undercover Cops At Old Orchard Mall, Prosecutors Say

SKOKIE, IL — A Lake County man is accused of dealing cocaine to undercover cops at Old Orchard Mall.

Heric Capote-Parra, 28, is charged with four felony counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance stemming from allegations he sold cocaine to an undercover cop on four occasions in a month.

Capote-Parra, of Highwood, was arrested Wednesday at the Highland Park car dealership where he works as a detailer, a Cook County judge was told Thursday at his initial court appearance in Skokie.

At the time of his arrest, Capote-Parra had a 9mm pistol under a seat and about 47 grams of cocaine in three bags, according to Assistant State's Attorney Clara Malkin.

Malkin said Capote-Parra sold nearly 35 grams — more than 1.2 ounces — of cocaine to undercover officers in the parking lot of the Old Orchard shopping center between May 18 and a final transaction on June 12.

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That final alleged sale, a deal to sell 19 grams of a substance containing cocaine for $700, qualifies a class X felony, which isa non-probationable offence carrying a minimum six-year prison sentence.

Capote-Parra was on probation at the time, having pleaded guilty to manufacturing or delivering cocaine in November 2021 following his arrest on allegations of armed violence and drug dealing by Waukegan police. He completed the prison sentence through time served and good behavior.

"I did contact the Lake County [assistant state's attorneys] and informed them that they should file a violation on their probation," Malkin said.

Capote-Parra was represented in the Lake County case and at his detention hearing in Skokie by criminal defense attorney George Gomez, who is also representing Robert Crimo, Jr., on charges he recklessly signed off on his teenage son's gun license application years before he allegedly carried out a mass shooting in Highland Park last year.

Gomez said Capote-Parra has not violated the terms of his probation.

"He has been compliant, minus this arrest, judge," Gomez said.

Associate Judge Anthony Calabrese pointed out that Capote-Parra appeared to have been involved in an ongoing criminal enterprise.

"And was armed at the time of his arrest regarding these cases, which is violative of both the law regarding felony possession of a weapon, as well as reflective of [Capote-Parra's] willingness potentially to engage in whatever it takes to forward the business of transaction of narcotics," Calabrese said.

Calabrese said the $10,000 the family could afford to post was sufficient for the seriousness of the charges, and set the cash portion of Capote-Parra's bond at $40,000.

Capote-Parra is due back in court July 6 for a bond review hearing.