Dubuque Man Convicted of Distributing Heroin that Caused Overdose Death on Easter

A man who distributed heroin to a woman who died of an overdose in April 2017 was convicted by a jury today after a 3-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Richard Leroy Parker, age 47, from Dubuque, Iowa, was convicted of distribution of heroin within 1,000 feet of an elementary school and a playground, resulting in death, and also convicted of possession with intent to distribute heroin within 1,000 feet of an elementary school and a playground.  The indictment also alleged that Parker had distributed cocaine that resulted in death, but the jury found Parker not guilty of distributing cocaine.  The verdict was returned this afternoon following about 2 hours of jury deliberations.

The evidence at trial showed that Parker obtained several grams of heroin in Chicago in April 2017.  On Easter Sunday, Parker brought the heroin to a residence in Dubuque.  Parker and others at the residence drank alcohol and smoked crack cocaine throughout the day.  Prior to midnight, Parker and a woman went into a back bedroom.  While inside the room, Parker gave the woman heroin, which she used.  Shortly after using the heroin, E.M. stopped breathing.  At approximately 12:20 a.m. on April 17, Parker called 911, and emergency responders arrived at the house.  Parker testified that, as emergency responders were attempting to save the woman’s life, he went into another room and hid the remaining heroin in a chair.  Investigators later found this heroin.  The attempts to resuscitate the woman were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead shortly after 1:15 a.m.

“Opioid abuse is at an all-time high in our country, and we all must do our part to combat it,” said United States Attorney Peter E. Deegan, Jr.  “This case serves as a sobering example of the human toll of this national crisis.  My office will spare no effort to prosecute those who traffic in heroin and contribute to this devastation.”  

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Parker remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Due to the fact that he has previously been convicted of four prior felony drug offenses, Parker faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life imprisonment, a $4,000,000 fine, $200 in special assessments, and at least 6 years of supervised release if he is released from imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force and 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 was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-1034-LRR.

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