A Dubuque man has been sentenced to over seven years in federal prison for distributing fentanyl, which led to an overdose incident. Anthony Frank Ernst, aged 39, pleaded guilty on July 9, 2024, to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
Court proceedings revealed that in April 2023, Ernst distributed fentanyl pills that eventually caused an individual to overdose. Shortly after the incident, law enforcement stopped a vehicle with Ernst as a passenger and found him in possession of more than 240 fentanyl pills. On June 7, 2023, he sold marijuana and fentanyl to a confidential informant cooperating with law enforcement. Again on June 9, 2023, officers stopped another car with Ernst inside and found him possessing controlled substances including fentanyl.
The sentencing took place in Cedar Rapids under United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Ernst received a sentence of 94 months' imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release without parole possibility in the federal system.
Ernst remains in the custody of the United States Marshal until his transfer to a federal prison.
Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Vander Stoep prosecuted the case. The investigation was part of the Northern Iowa Heroin Initiative and involved collaboration between multiple agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Lacrosse Wisconsin Drug Task Force, and Dubuque Drug Task Force consisting of the Dubuque Police Department and Dubuque Sheriff’s Office.