Man Sentenced to Nearly Four Years in Federal Prison in Cedar Rapids Heroin and Fentanyl Conspiracy

A man who distributed large quantities of heroin and fentanyl was sentenced on December 7, 2022, to nearly four years federal prison.

Demeco Demon Irvin, age 31, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, received the prison term after a June 2, 2022 guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin.

In a plea agreement, Irvin admitted he sold between 80 and 100 grams of heroin for Brian Dennis during 2020.  During a search of Irvin’s residence and vehicle in September 2020, officers found 32 baggies containing a total of 14.86 grams of fentanyl, which Irvin intended to distribute.  

Six other individuals, Cody Scott Deklotz, Andrew James Lehman, Ryan Rick Schlitter, Melinda Salvatora Werning, Jerry Dwayne Banghart, and Thomas Nathaniel May previously pled guilty to the heroin conspiracy and have been sentenced.  Ryan Rick Schlitter was sentenced to 46 months’ imprisonment.  Andrew James Lehman was sentenced to 10 months and 16 days’ imprisonment.  Cody Scott Deklotz was sentenced to 84 months’ imprisonment.  Melinda Salvatora Werning was sentenced to 12 months’ and one day imprisonment.  Jerry Dwayne Banghart was sentenced to 46 months’ imprisonment.  Thomas Nathaniel May was sentenced to 31 months’ imprisonment.  Three other individuals charged in the same indictment, including Dennis, have pled guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

Irvin was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Irvin was sentenced to 46 months’ imprisonment and a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Irvin is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal 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 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; and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The case 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 21‑CR‑32‑CJW.

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