Iowa City man sentenced to 27 years in prison for selling heroin that led to fatal overdose
Editor's Note: This story makes frequent mention of drug use, including heroin.
An Iowa City man has been sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for selling heroin to a person who eventually died from an overdose.
Dione Mobley, 43, was found guilty in October by a federal judge of conspiracy to distribute heroin resulting in death.
Mobley was sentenced in late April.
The court determined Mobley, sometimes known to associates under the alias "Flea," and another man, 43-year-old Lugene Shipp, sold heroin to a small group of other individuals, who then distributed it to others.
Shipp was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the same charges.
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2021 winter overdose leads to arrest
According to court documents, a separate heroin distributor working under Mobley and Shipp initially spoke with the now-deceased person on Jan. 1, 2021.
Doorbell camera footage from the dealer's home depicts the now-deceased person acknowledging that they had tried the distributor's heroin and wanted to purchase more, according to court documents.
Shortly thereafter, the now-deceased person sent a text message to a third party on Jan. 3, indicating that they were "nodding" out. Two phone calls were made to another person over an hour span. After one final message, no other calls or messages were made that day.
Authorities believe the person passed away from a heroin overdose on Jan. 3, 2021 or later.
Body went undiscovered for weeks
The deceased person's housemate complained on two separate occasions to the landlord about a suspicious and sharp smell present in the apartment. When the landlord visited on Jan. 23, 2021, he discovered the body, which had entered an "advanced state of decomposition."
The Iowa City Police were called shortly after for a "suspicious" overdose.
The court, using expert testimony and much of the data collected from the deceased person's phone, determined that they had injected "$80 worth of heroin into (their) body" within 2.5 hours of buying the illegal drug.
The distributor that sold the heroin to the deceased person testified that they bought it from Mobley and Shipp.
A similar interaction between the dealer, Mobley, Shipp and others on Jan. 22, 2021, was "representative of the entire conspiracy," court documents said.
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Conspiracy proven by interactions, court determines
Court documents pointed to prosecutorial evidence — including Ring camera footage, text and phone logs, witness testimony and more — to determine that Mobley and Shipp worked together with a dealer to distribute heroin between September 2020 and February 2021.
Court documents say Shipp and Mobley often changed cell phones every two months, providing "False subscriber information" when they purchased the new phones.
The duo will be required to serve five years of supervised release as well.
There is no parole in the federal system.
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Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City man sentenced to prison for selling heroin that sparked overdose
