Crime & Safety

Lake Zurich 21-year-old Sentenced to 8 Years for Heroin Death

Cody Searles shared heroin with his best friend in 2011, resulting in his friend's death.

 

A Lake Zurich 21-year-old was sentenced to eight years in prison for killing his best friend by sharing tainted heroin, according to the Daily Herald. 

Cody Searles has been in jail since the 2011 death of Christian Medina, 18, of Lake Zurich. He was sentenced in Lake County Court on Tuesday, Oct. 16.

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Searles was 19 when he bought $15 worth of heroin and shared it with his best friend and a 17-year-old girl. All three ended up in the hospital, and Medina died three days later, according to the Daily Herald.

 “The court does note that your conduct in this case threatened harm to the decedent who you characterize as your best friend ... it was your heroin he utilized,” Lake County Circuit Judge John Phillips said, as reported in the News Sun.

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Lake Zurich police officers testified on Tuesday saying Searles delayed them by 25 minutes from entering the house while Medina was comatose in an bedroom, according to the Daily Herald.


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