Eric DeAngelo Griggs, Heroin Distribution, Iowa 2018

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Chicago Man Convicted in Heroin Overdose Death

A Chicago man who distributed heroin that led to the death of a young Cedar Falls woman was convicted by a jury in federal court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after a three-day trial.

Eric DeAngelo Griggs, 40, was found guilty of one count of distribution of heroin that resulted in the death of the 22-year-old woman on August 31, 2018, one count of using Facebook Messenger to facilitate the heroin distribution, and one count of using a cellular telephone to facilitate another heroin distribution on September 1, 2018.

The evidence presented at trial showed that Griggs was a source of supply of heroin for individuals in the Waterloo, Iowa, area during the summer of 2018. On August 31, 2018, Griggs arranged to distribute $100 worth of heroin to the young woman via Facebook messenger. She subsequently returned to a residence in Cedar Falls, used the heroin, and then died of acute heroin intoxication.

Within a few hours after her body was found, officers were able to text Griggs using her phone to set up another heroin transaction. Griggs came to the location agreed upon with the undercover officer and was identified as the same person who had communicated with the young woman the day before.

Griggs faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment. Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared.

Griggs remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Reinert and Special Assistant United States Attorney Dillan Edwards, and was investigated as part of the Northern Iowa Heroin Initiative and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force program of the United States government through a cooperative effort of the Waterloo Police Department, the Cedar Falls Police Department, the Tri-County Drug Task Force, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The case file number is 19-CR-02062. Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA for more information.