A Cedar Rapids man who distributed heroin that caused a heroin overdose death pled guilty on Nov. 24, 2014, in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Ramon Cortez Freeman, age 35, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was convicted of distribution of heroin resulting in death, three counts of distributing heroin, and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
At the plea hearing, Freeman admitted he distributed heroin to another individual in January 2014. The heroin Freeman distributed was used by an individual identified as D.L., who used the heroin and died of a heroin overdose. Freeman also admitted to distributing heroin in February and twice in July. Court documents reflect the heroin distributed by Freeman in February and July was determined to be around 70% pure. Freeman also admitted he possessed a.45 caliber pistol loaded with seven rounds of ammunition in April 2014. Freeman admitted he had previously been convicted of drug felonies in Chicago, Illinois.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Freeman remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Freeman faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life, $4,250,000 in fines, $500 in special assessments, and a lifetime term of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham and was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA, the Linn County Sheriff's Office, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Marion Police Department, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Sixth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR14-100-1-LRR.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
