Mateusz D. Syryjczyk, Misprision of a Felony, Iowa 2024

DUBUQUE, IA – A Rockford, Illinois man will spend nearly two years behind bars for a callous act of self-preservation following a fatal opioid overdose. Mateusz D. Syryjczyk, 29, was sentenced today to 21 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of misprision of a felony.

The case, laid bare in court documents, details a night of reckless drug use that culminated in tragedy. In May 2019, Syryjczyk, along with his girlfriend, Jacqueline Birch, and another individual, traveled to Dubuque, Iowa, to purchase heroin. They scored the drugs at a local residence before retreating to a Dubuque hotel room to use them. It wasn’t long before the third individual began to overdose.

Instead of immediately calling for help, Syryjczyk and Birch engaged in a horrifying dance with death. Birch intermittently performed CPR, briefly restoring some breathing function, but the individual never regained consciousness. For hours, they stalled, prioritizing their own freedom over a life slipping away. When they finally decided to contact 911, Syryjczyk took matters into his own hands – not to assist paramedics, but to scrub the scene clean of incriminating evidence. He removed drug paraphernalia, attempting to conceal their involvement from law enforcement.

The attempt failed. Responding officers were met with false statements from Syryjczyk regarding the circumstances of the overdose. The individual was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy revealed a lethal cocktail of heroin, fentanyl, and valeryl fentanyl in their system. Syryjczyk’s actions weren’t about saving a life; they were about saving his own skin.

United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams, presiding over the sentencing in Cedar Rapids, showed no leniency. In addition to the 21-month prison sentence, Syryjczyk will serve a one-year term of supervised release upon his release. There is no parole in the federal system, meaning Syryjczyk will serve his full sentence. He was released on bond and will self-surrender to the Bureau of Prisons at a date to be determined.

The Dubuque Drug Task Force spearheaded the investigation, with Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham prosecuting the case. Court file information can be found at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl (Case File No. 19‑CR‑1042‑CJW-‑MAR). Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa on Twitter @USAO_NDIA for further updates.

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