(Council Bluffs, Iowa) [UPDATED]— An Omaha, NE., man was sentenced Thursday, June 15, 2023, for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. 22-year-old Jerome Wallace, III, was sentenced to 180 months (15 years) in prison following his plea of guilty to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Wallace must serve a ten-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Wallace was also ordered to pay restitution reimbursing funeral expenses.

According to court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, on March 2, 2021, the Council Bluffs Police and Fire Departments were dispatched to a home in Council Bluffs to provide medical treatment to an unresponsive male, 20-year-old Jared Ludwig, who ultimately died from a fentanyl overdose. Wallace distributed pressed pills containing fentanyl to the victim. Officers linked Wallace to the fentanyl overdose death after reviewing phone and social media information, and conducting witness interviews.

Wallace along with co-defendants 21-year-old Karlee Rosenthal and 20-year-old Linsey Stisi distributed pressed pills containing fentanyl as part of the conspiracy from January to August of 2021 in Omaha, Nebraska and Council Bluffs.

In January 2023, Rosenthal was sentenced to time served and five years of supervised release, following her plea of guilty to her role in the conspiracy to distribute a controlled sentence. In March 2023, Stisi was sentenced to time served and four years of supervised release, following her plea of guilty to her role in the conspiracy to distribute a controlled sentence. The Council Bluffs Police Department, Omaha Police Department, Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.

Fentanyl has become the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in the United States. Counterfeit, fentanyl-laced pills often resemble pharmaceutical pills, but contain potentially lethal doses of fentanyl. Visit the Drug Enforcement Administration’s website to learn more about One Pill Can Kill.