NEAR WEST SIDE — A University of Illinois at Chicago student and an employee for the university are facing criminal charges after they allegedly were caught dealing heroin in a sting set up by federal law enforcement.
Tania McCallum, a UIC student, and Jacquay Holmes, a UIC employee, appeared in court Wednesday, each facing counts of manufacturing and delivering heroin.
Earlier this summer, agents with the Drug Enforcement Agency developed information that a UIC employee was selling heroin on campus, according to Will Taylor, a DEA spokesman.
Agents zeroed in on Jacquay Holmes, who worked at a UIC student housing building in the 800 block for South Damen Avenue, according to court records.
Between July 18 and August 4, agents bought heroin four times from Holmes in the parking lot of the UIC building on South Damen Avenue, buying a total of $2,000 worth of heroin, law enforcement officials said.
McCallum, who lived in student housing on South Damen Avenue and also worked for UIC, delivered heroin on behalf of Holmes on one occasion, according to the DEA and the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.
The two women were arrested on August 4. Agents searched Holmes' home and did not find more heroin, but agents did find about 22,000 plastic capsules, which was the same packaging Holmes allegedly used when selling to the undercover agent.
Holmes is a building service worker, according to a university directory, and makes about $36,000 per year, according to a salary guide published by The Daily Illini. Holmes also is a former student at UIC and played for the women's basketball team, law enforcement sources said.
McCallum is currently a UIC student, according to a university directory and law enforcement officials. McCallum had been studying psychology since 2010 and had aspirations of becoming a clinical psychologist, according to her LinkedIn and Google+ accounts.
A spokesman for UIC would not comment Wednesday on what action the university has taken or may take against McCallum and Holmes, calling it a "personnel matter."
The university is aware of the arrests, and university police are cooperating with the DEA's investigation, said Bill Burton, a university spokesman.
According to court records, McCallum has no previous arrests as an adult.
Holmes, who lives in the 800 block of East 44th Street, was arrested in 2007 for marijuana possession.
Cook County Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. set bail for both McCallum and Holmes at $30,000 on Wednesday.
A spokesman for the DEA did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the circumstances surrounding the investigation.
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