Des Moines Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Fentanyl Overdose Death

DES MOINES, IOWA – On Thursday, February 3, 2022, Tyler Luke Critchlow, age 28, of Des Moines, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger to 144 months in prison for distributing a controlled substance which resulted in death. Critchlow previously pleaded guilty to the charge.

In the early morning hours of May 3, 2020, members of the Des Moines Police Department were dispatched to a Motel 6 in Des Moines for a suspected drug overdose. Medics attempted life-saving techniques, but the victim was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators with the Des Moines Police Department Vice-Narcotics Unit reviewed numerous phone records, including text messages and Facebook messages, reviewed surveillance, and made contact with the victim’s friends and family, which led officers to Critchlow. Investigators were able to determine that Critchlow distributed a heroin and fentanyl mixture to the victim the evening prior, on May 2, 2020.

U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The investigation was conducted by the Des Moines Police Department and the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.