Luca Joseph Roberts, Fentanyl Distribution, Iowa 2024

A Des Moines man was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for distributing fentanyl that led to a victim's overdose death.

Luca Joseph Roberts, 25, was sentenced on November 8, 2024, to 144 months in federal prison for distribution of fentanyl.

According to public court documents, Roberts provided pills containing fentanyl to a victim on October 20, 2022. The victim used the pills, overdosed, and died.

Law enforcement identified Roberts as the source of supply for those pills and purchased from Roberts additional pills containing fentanyl.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Roberts will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

Roberts was also ordered to pay $5,796.00 in restitution. The case was investigated by the Des Moines Police Department.

Fentanyl has become the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in the United States. Fentanyl deaths for youth ages 15 to 24 more than doubled between 2018 and 2022.

Counterfeit, fentanyl-laced pills often resemble pharmaceutical pills, but contain potentially lethal doses of fentanyl.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdia/pr/des-moines-man-sentenced-144-months-federal-prison-drug-charges