On October 23, 2025, McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi L. Freese announced the sentencing of Gloria Gastelum, 55, and her son German Vargas, 34, both from Tucson, Arizona, for fentanyl-related offenses. Gastelum was sentenced to seventeen years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for possession with intent to deliver fentanyl. Vargas was previously sentenced to thirteen years on October 14, 2023, for possession of fentanyl. Both pleaded guilty before Judge Mark Gerhardt.
The case began in May 2024 when the McHenry County Narcotics Task Force, following a DEA tip, investigated a suspected fentanyl delivery from Arizona to Illinois. On August 7, 2024, officers stopped Gastelum and Vargas in Marengo, Illinois, and found twelve bundles of fentanyl pills in their vehicle…