Michigan man sentenced in Iowa drug case that killed woman

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – A Michigan man accused of ordering drugs online and having them shipped to a friend in Dubuque — who then died of an overdose — has pleaded guilty.

Federal prosecutors for Iowa say 28-year-old Jay Rickert pleaded guilty Thursday in Cedar Rapids’ federal court to wilfully causing the distribution of a controlled substance.

As part of the plea, Rickert admitted he had ordered a hallucinogenic drug in February 2015 on the dark web from a supplier in Canada and had it shipped to a woman in Dubuque. Investigators say the woman used the drug, believing it was a hallucinogenic, but the supplier had shipped fentanyl, a powerful and often deadly synthetic opioid.

Rickert faces up to 20 years in prison when he’s sentenced at a later date.