Des Moines Woman Sentenced to 192 Months in Federal Prison for Distributing Fentanyl Resulting in Death

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Des Moines woman was sentenced on August 28, 2025, to 192 months in federal prison for distribution of fentanyl resulting in death.

According to public court documents, on January 6, 2024, the Des Moines Police Department responded to the overdose death of a Des Moines man. Ashley Lynn Andrews, 38, was identified as the dealer of the fentanyl that killed the man. Thereafter, law enforcement conducted several controlled buys of fentanyl from Andrews. On April 12, 2024, Andrews was found slumped over the wheel of her vehicle at a gas station in possession of 36 grams of fentanyl, a distribution quantity.

After completing her term of imprisonment, Andrews will be required to serve a four-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Andrews was also ordered to pay $20,150 in restitution.

In March 2025, co-defendant Earl Sandeleo Galtney, 44, of Cedar Rapids, was sentenced to 142 months in federal prison, and co-defendant Shannon D. Robertson, 44, of Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced to 125 months in federal prison.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Des Moines Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Central Iowa Gang Task Force.

Fentanyl has become the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in the United States. Counterfeit, fentanyl-laced pills often resemble pharmaceutical pills, but contain potentially lethal doses of fentanyl. In 2023, accidental overdose was the number one cause of death in 37 states for residents under 40 years old. https://stateline.org/2023/09/05/death-rates-for-people-under-40-have-skyrocketed-blame-fentanyl/. In Iowa, opioid-related deaths reached a record high 258 in 2021, up 64% compared with 2019, and decreased 8% in 2022. https://hhs.iowa.gov/media/11935/download.