Des Moines Man & Woman Sentenced In Fentanyl Death Cases

(Polk County, IA) -- A Des Moines man and woman are headed to federal prison, in separate cases involving pills containing fentanyl that led to deadly consequences.

Investigators say 25-year-old Luca Joseph Roberts has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison, for distributing a pill with fentanyl to someone who overdosed and died in 2022. Law enforcement identified Roberts as the source of supply for those pills and purchased from Roberts additional pills containing fentanyl. Roberts will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release, after his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Roberts was also ordered to pay $5,796.00 in restitution.

In a separate case, court documents state 21-year-old Nevaeh Botts sold pills containing fentanyl to a 16-year-old victim who overdosed and died. Botts also sold fentanyl pills to an undercover police officer three times. In July of 2023, during the execution of a search warrant at Botts’s apartment, law enforcement found hundreds of fentanyl pills and two firearms. Botts will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release after her prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Botts was also ordered to pay $5,574.09 in restitution.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Des Moines Police Department.

The US Attorney's Office for the Southern DIstrict of Iowa makes this further comment:

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.


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