Crime & Safety

Son of Former Chief Judge Jailed on Heavy Heroin Rap

The son of retired Chief Judge Rodney Lechwar was jailed on a heroin charge.

Undercover cops collared the son of former Chief Judge Rodney Lechwar and charged him with possession of heroin with plans to sell it.

Matthew Lechwar, 29, of 23927 S. Navajo Drive in Channahon, was taken into custody March 30 by agents from the Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad.

MANS agents also arrested 28-year-old Tonya Roe of 24639 S. Valley Drive in Channahon. She and Lechwar are both being held in the county jail on bonds of $150,000 each.

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On the same night that agents grabbed Lechwar and Roe, the MANS crew arrested Heather Brown, 23, of 304 Barr Elms Ave. in Joliet. Brown was charged with possession of a controlled substance. She was released from jail after posting a $500 bond.

No one from MANS stepped up to answer questions about the arrests of Matthew Lechwar, Roe or Brown.

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The criminal complaint against Matthew Lechwar was signed by a MANS agent. The complaint said Matthew Lechwar was carrying between 15 and 100 grams of heroin. According to the website TheGoodDrugsGuide, a gram of heroin sells for between $59 and $88.

Matthew Lechwar's father, Rodney Lechwar, was the chief judge in Will County from 1997 to 2003. He was a judge from 1985 to 2010. For 10 years prior to becoming a judge, Rodney Lechwar was a Will County prosecutor.

Rodney Lechwar is now a mediator with ADR Systems, "the Chicago area’s largest alternative dispute resolution service." Rodney Lechwar failed to respond to messages left for him at ADR Systems.

According to the Will County Recorder's Office, the Navajo Drive address listed in jail records for Matthew Lechwar is a home purchased by Rodney and Mary Lynn Lechwar in 2009. It was not clear whether they live there as well.

Matthew Lechwar's March arrest marked the second time he was picked up in Will County on a heroin charge in less than six years.

In April 2006, while his father was a judge, he was charged with the unlawful delivery of heroin. The charge was dropped two years later after Matthew Lechwar completed the drug court program administered by the state's attorney's office.

The class X felony Matthew Lechwar caught in March carries a possible prison sentence of six to 30 years.


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