Walter J. O’Donohue, III, Fentanyl Trafficking, Iowa 2018

OMAHA MAN SENTENCED FOR FENTANYL TRAFFICKING

Council Bluffs, IA – A 35-year-old Omaha man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in a fentanyl trafficking case that led to several overdoses and one death.

On February 27, 2018, Walter J. O’Donohue, III, was sentenced by United States District Court Senior Judge James Gritzner. O’Donohue was also fined $50,000 and ordered to serve five years of supervised release following his prison term.

The investigation began on June 28, 2015, when law enforcement officers were called to a Carter Lake, Iowa, residence regarding an unresponsive male. Law enforcement found the body of a 20-year-old deceased male at the home. A second male was transported to a local hospital and placed on life support.

Further investigation revealed that O’Donohue was responsible for the importation of acetyl fentanyl, a fentanyl analogue, which was distributed by co-defendant Charles Beuterbaugh. The acetyl fentanyl was obtained from a source in China and was distributed to individuals in Western Iowa and Eastern Nebraska.

All members involved in the distribution of the acetyl fentanyl have entered guilty pleas. Co-defendants Dustin C. Sullivan and Cody Lanus were previously sentenced to 162 months and 144 months in prison, respectively. Michael David Redmond, Jr., was sentenced to 120 months in prison, and Amalia N. Pandis is pending sentencing.

The investigation was conducted by the Carter Lake Police Department, Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, Council Bluffs Police Department, Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force, Omaha Police Department, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Iowa Division of Narcotic Enforcement, United States Postal Inspection Service, and United States Drug Enforcement Administration-Nebraska. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.