Aurora drug dealer will serve 20 years, whenever police can catch him again

A west suburban drug dealer — who freed himself from a court-ordered tracking device and has not been seen since — has been sentenced to 20 years in prison despite missing his trial.

Eric Chapa, 30, whose last address was in the 1100 block of Trask Street in Aurora, was sentenced Friday by Associate Judge Clint Hull to 20 years after being convicted in absentia on Jan. 9 of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, according to the Kane County state’s attorney’s office.

On Feb. 20, 2014, Aurora police searched Chapa’s home and found more than 600 grams of cocaine and about 100 grams of marijuana, according to a statement from prosecutors. He told police “he sells cocaine and earns a monthly profit of more than $3,000,” prosecutors said.

Chapa was freed on $7,500 bail, but on Aug. 15, 2014, he managed to remove a court-ordered GPS device and fled, prosecutors said. He remains a fugitive, and anyone with information should call Aurora police at (630) 256-5500 or Aurora Area CrimeStoppers at (630) 892-1000.

By law, Chapa must serve at least 75 percent of the sentence for the Class X felony, and will get credit for 91 days served in the Kane County jail.

“Mr. Chapa will resurface at some point, and when he does he will realize that he compounded his problems by fleeing,” State’s Attorney Joe McMahon said in the statement.