A man who conspired to distribute heroin and fentanyl that led to multiple overdoses and deaths was sentenced today to 20 years in federal prison.
DeShaun Anderson, age 43, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a Sept. 23, 2015 guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl resulting in serious bodily injury and death.
At the September plea hearing, Anderson admitted he conspired with others to distribute heroin and another powerful opiate, fentanyl, in Cedar Rapids. Anderson admitted that, on four occasions, users suffered serious bodily injury as a result of using the substances either he or his co-conspirators distributed. He also admitted that two individuals died as a result of using substances distributed by the co-conspirators. All of the deaths and overdose injuries admitted by Anderson occurred between late February and mid-April of 2015. Court documents reflect that, between January and April 2015, at least four other individuals lost consciousness, but did not suffer serious injuries, after using drugs distributed by Anderson or his co-conspirators.
Anderson was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Anderson was sentenced to 240 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed, and he was ordered to make $12,371 in restitution. He must also serve a 4-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Anderson is being held in the United States Marshals’ custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA; the Cedar Rapids Police Department; the Linn County Sheriff's Office; the Marion Police Department; the Iowa City Police Department; and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 15-CR-00046-LRR.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
