Carter Lake Woman Sentenced in Fentanyl Trafficking Case

Amalia Pandis sentenced for role in drug-related overdoses

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – On June 20, 2018, Amalia Pandis, age 24, of Carter Lake, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and five years of supervised release by United States District Court Senior Judge James E. Gritzner for Conspiracy to Distribute a Fentanyl Analogue that caused death or serious bodily injury, announced United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum.

Pandis was part of a drug trafficking organization responsible for receiving and distributing fentanyl analogues obtained from a source in China to individuals in Western Iowa and Eastern Nebraska. The investigation began on June 28, 2015, when law enforcement officers were called to a Carter Lake residence regarding an unresponsive male. Law enforcement found the body of a 20-year old deceased male at the home. Law enforcement also discovered a second male had been transported to a local hospital, and placed on life support, from the same location prior to law enforcement’s arrival.

Subsequent investigation revealed Pandis’ co-defendant Charles Beuterbaugh provided acetyl fentanyl to both victims, which was determined to be the cause of death and the reason for the hospitalization. Beuterbaugh had obtained the acetyl fentanyl from Pandis. She obtained the acetyl fentanyl through an organization that began distributing fentanyl, or an analogue of fentanyl, in November of 2014 and continued to distribute into April of 2016.

All members involved in the distribution of the acetyl fentanyl entered guilty pleas. On August 23, 2017, Senior Judge Gritzner sentenced Michael David Redmond, Jr. to 120 months in prison. On October 26, 2017, Dustin C. Sullivan was sentenced to 162 months inprisonment and Cody Jay Lanus was sentenced to 144 months. Charles J. Beuterbaugh was sentenced November 7, 2017, to 240 months in prison, and Walter J. O’Donohue was sentenced February 28, 2018 to 180 months imprisonment.

This investigation was conducted by the Carter Lake Police Department, Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, Council Bluffs Police Department, Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force, Omaha Police Department, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Iowa Division of Narcotic Enforcement, United States Postal Inspection Service and United States Drug Enforcement Administration-Nebraska. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.