Chicago Man Found Guilty of Conspiring to Distribute Heroin and Fentanyl That Caused Multiple Deaths and Overdoses

A man who conspired to distribute heroin, fentanyl, and crack cocaine that led to several overdoses and deaths was convicted by a jury today, after a 6-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Max Julian Wright, age 35, from Chicago, Illinois, was convicted of two counts of distribution of fentanyl and one count of conspiring to distribute heroin, crack cocaine, and fentanyl that resulted in six serious bodily injuries and two deaths.  The verdict was returned this afternoon following about 3 ½ hours of jury deliberations.

The evidence at trial showed that, between about 2013 and June 2015, Wright brought large quantities of heroin, fentanyl, and crack cocaine from Chicago to Cedar Rapids.  Wright and other individuals, including DeShaun Anderson and Marcus Wallace, sold the drugs to various users in Cedar Rapids.  Fentanyl is a synthetic opiate similar to heroin, but many times more potent than heroin.  Witness testimony showed that by at least late 2014, the potency of the heroin being sold by Wright and Anderson increased, which led to at least six individuals immediately overdosing on the drugs.  Testimony showed the users who overdosed lost consciousness nearly immediately after using the drugs, and had severely reduced breathing function due to the effects of the opiate drugs.  One of the injured victims died two days later from the injuries sustained from using the drugs.  Another victim died in early April of a mixed-drug overdose that included a toxic level of fentanyl in the victim’s blood.   All of the deaths and overdose injuries found by the jury occurred between late February and mid-May of 2015. 

The jury also found that Wright twice distributed fentanyl during controlled transactions conducted by police in May and June 2015.  Evidence at trial showed the fentanyl was sold to a heroin customer of Wright’s, and that at the time the customer and the police believed the substance was heroin.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Wright remains in the custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Wright faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life imprisonment, a $12,000,000 fine, $300 in special assessments, and a lifetime term of supervised release if he were released from prison.

The case 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 Cedar Rapids Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA; the Cedar Rapids Police Department; the Linn County Sheriff's Office; the Marion Police Department; the Iowa City Police Department; and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Linn County Medical Examiner’s Office, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Dan Chatham and Patrick Reinert. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 15-CR-00046-LRR. 

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