DES MOINES, Iowa – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa said Tuesday, a Des Moines man was sentenced on November 8, 2024 to 12 years in federal prison for distribution of fentanyl. According to public court documents, 25-year-old Luca Joseph 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. This case was investigated by the Des Moines Police Department.

Authorities say 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. Visit the Drug Enforcement Administration’s website to learn more about One Pill Can Kill.