His Fentanyl Ended Plainfield Central Grad's Life: Joliet Man Agrees He's Guilty, Begins Serving Sentence

JOLIET, IL — Drug overdose cases often take several years to work their way through Will County's criminal justice system. This week, 34-year-old Joliet resident Dakota Smith returned to the courthouse to plead guilty to his role in ending the life of Edward Strysik. The Fentanyl overdose death happened back on March 6, 2019. It was not until February 2022 when a Will County grand jury returned a criminal indictment against Smith, including a Class X felony charge of drug-induced homicide.

This week, at the courthouse, Smith worked out a plea agreement with prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to his crime and received a sentence of 6.5 years at the Illinois Department of Corrections. According to his sentencing order, Smith and the victim knew each other for more than 10 years. The victim had asked Smith for heroin. Smith got the victim a substance and the victim was later found dead. The substance and the victim both tested positive for Fentanyl. The victim was only 26 years old at the time of his passing.

In 2022, Joliet Patch reported that Dakota Smith, then 30 years old, turned himself in at the Joliet Police Department in connection with his Feb. 24, 2022 indictment. Smith was charged with causing the March 7, 2019, heroin overdose death of 26-year-old Joliet resident Eddie Strysik, a graduate of Plainfield Central High School who played baseball and football for the school.

Smith resides in the 3100 block of Joliet's September Drive. At the time of his grand jury indictment, Smith's three felony charges were: drug-induced homicide and two counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance.

Will County's indictment states that on March 6, 2019, Smith knowingly and unlawfully delivered fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl to Edward Strysik "and Edward Strysik thereafter injected, inhaled, absorbed or ingested any amount of that fentanyl and fentanyl acetyl into his body and said injection, inhalation, absorption or ingestion of the fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl caused the death of Edward Strysik."

The drug-induced homicide charges against Smith resulted from a Will County Sheriff's Office investigation.