(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – A man from Nebraska was sentenced in Council Bluffs U-S District Court, Tuesday, April 18, 2023, to 168 months (14-years) in prison following his plea of guilty to distribution of a controlled substance. The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports that on January 12, 2021, the Council Bluffs Police and Council Bluffs Fire Departments were dispatched to a motel to provide medical treatment to an unresponsive victim, who ultimately died from a fentanyl overdose. 22-year-old Jason D. Hartzell, of Omaha, distributed fentanyl pressed pills to the victim.

Officers linked Hartzell to the fentanyl overdose death after reviewing phone information, social media information, surveillance footage, and conducting witness interviews. Hartzell must serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

The Council Bluffs Police Department, Omaha Police Department, Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.
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.

Visit the Drug Enforcement Administration’s website to learn more about One Pill Can Kill.