Alleged heroin dealers stopped in Peru make initial court appearance

A man and woman picked up for allegedly dealing heroin in Peru have to come up with big cash to get out of jail.

Wilfredo Candelaria of Peru and Nora Toovey of DePue were both in court Sunday being charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. Their bond was set at $1 million each. Both are due back in court Thursday.

Candelaria and Toovey were pulled over Friday night at 6th and Fulton Streets in Peru. With the help of a drug dog, Peru Police Chief Doug Bernabei says officers found over 100 separate packages of heroin and a small amount of crack cocaine and paraphernalia.

Alleged Peru heroin dealer indicted

A man arrested during what police called a significant heroin bust has been indicted. Jeffrey Scholle of Peru was indicted Tuesday by a grand jury for unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

Scholle was accused of having 50 grams of heroin and about $10,000 in cash when officers raided his home on Pulaski Street in early December. Scholle remains in the La Salle County Jail with his bond set at $2 million.

Peru Police make an early morning heroin bust

If you wondered what the commotion was Wednesday morning on the east side of Peru, it was a drug bust.

Peru Police Chief Doug Bernabei says they made one arrest around 6am in the area of the Illinois Valley Y. After making several undercover buys, Bernabei says they found 50 grams of heroin, much of it in raw powder form. Investigators also confiscated around $10,000 in cash.

Bernabei calls the bust “significant” in trying to curtail heroin in the Illinois Valley.

Heroin blamed for the death of a Morris woman

When somebody you love dies from a drug overdose, there is often a desire to keep the circumstances of their death secret. That’s not the feeling of a Morris mother that lost a daughter.

25-year-old Rebecca Smith was found dead at 5:30am Wednesday in her mother’s home according to Grundy County Coroner John Callahan. Smith’s death appears to have been from a heroin overdose.

Callahan says Smith’s mother asked that the overdose be reported “in hopes that no other parent suffers the loss of a child due to heroin or any other drug.”

Callahan says he appreciates and respects the mother’s cooperation and willingness to support the release of information.

Streator men arrested in Ottawa for allegedly having heroin

A traffic stop in Ottawa left two men from Streator accused of having heroin. Thomas Scullans was pulled over Sunday on La Salle Street. Scullans and Sanford Berry, Jr. were arrested for possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Scullans was also tickets for illegal transportation of alcohol. Both were taken to the La Salle County Jail.