Cedar Rapids Man Sentenced To More Than 11 Years In Federal Prison For Distributing Heroin That Caused Overdose Death

A man who distributed heroin to an individual who died from using the heroin was sentenced today to more than 11 years in federal prison.

Austin Allen Martens, age 24, from Cedar Rapids, received the prison term after a July 28, 2014, guilty plea to distributing 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 Martens.

Martens was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade.  Martens was sentenced to 135 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Martens is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

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.