Man found guilty of supplying fatal dose of narcotics to Darien man: prosecutors

A Berkeley man has been found guilty of supplying a fatal dose of illegal narcotics to Darien resident Michael Rice, prosecutors said.

Judge Daniel Guerin on Friday found Willie Woodgett, 38, guilty of one count of drug induced homicide and one count of manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance--fentanyl, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

Guerin’s verdict follows a three-day bench trial that concluded July 16.

.On July 30, 2024, Woodgett was taken into custody on an arrest warrant. At First Appearance Court, a motion was granted to deny him pre-trial release. He has been in custody at the DuPage County Jail since that time, authorities said.

About 12:38 p.m. April 1, 2023, Darien police responded to a call made by the victim’s mother regarding an unconscious male in the family home.

The male, later identified as Rice, was pronounced dead the following day with the cause of death determined to be combined drug toxicity of fentanyl, ethanol, diphenhydramine, alprazolam, xylazine and buprenorphine, authorities said.

Rice was prescribed alprazolam. Following an investigation, authorities learned that on March 30, 2023, the victim arranged to receive illegal narcotics from Woodgett.

About 11 p.m. the same day, Woodgett went to Rice’s home and delivered the narcotics to him, according to the release.

At some point between March 30 and April 1, 2023, Rice ingested the narcotics provided by Woodgett and subsequently died from a drug overdose, according to the release.

“Illegal narcotics continue to be a scourge on society unnecessarily killing thousands of people nationwide year after year,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “Judge Guerin’s verdict today sends the unmistakable message that if you supply narcotics that cause the death of another, you will be identified, charged, prosecuted and if found guilty, as Mr. Woodgett has been, face a significant amount of time behind bars.”

Woodgett’s next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 15 for return of the pre-sentence report and filing of post-trial motions.