Man Who Fled Scene after Contributing to Overdose Sentenced to Federal Prison

A man who distributed heroin and fentanyl to a victim who subsequently overdosed was sentenced today to more than 19 years in federal prison.

Jacob Lee Blauer, age 32, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a November 29, 2023 guilty plea to distribution of a controlled substance resulting in serious bodily injury.

Evidence in the case established that on November 7, 2022, in Cedar Rapids, Blauer prepared a shot of heroin and fentanyl and gave it to another person. The victim used the drugs and immediately overdosed. Blauer left the scene. Emergency personnel arrived and revived the victim with Narcan. After this incident, Blauer continued to sell heroin and fentanyl.

Blauer was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Blauer was sentenced to 236 months' imprisonment and must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Blauer is being held in the United States Marshal's custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and was investigated as part of the Northern Iowa Heroin Initiative and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Drug Enforcement Administrative and the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

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

The case file number is 23-CR-61. Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.