Cedar Rapids Man Pleads Guilty To Distributing Heroin That Caused Overdose Death

A man who distributed heroin to an individual who died from using the heroin pled guilty on July 28, 2014, in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Austin Allen Martens, age 24, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was convicted of distribution of heroin.

In a plea agreement, Martens admitted that he distributed $80 worth of heroin to another individual in March 2013.  The purchaser was found deceased the next day, having overdosed after using the heroin distributed by defendant. 

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Martens remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Martens faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, $100 in special assessments, and up to a lifetime of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham and was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA, the Linn County Sheriff's Office, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Marion Police Department, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Sixth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services. 

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is CR14-40-1-LRR.