KC Man Sentenced to 21 Years for Fentanyl Conspiracy That Resulted in Overdose Death

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for leading a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, which resulted in an overdose death.

Dmitry Cattell, 24, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips on Thursday, May 2, to 21 years in federal prison without parole.

On Nov. 21, 2023, Cattell pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, two counts of distributing fentanyl, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and one count of being an illegal drug user in possession of a firearm.

Cattell distributed at least 6,225 doses of fentanyl during the conspiracy from Sept. 12, 2019, to April 5, 2022. Cattell admitted that the conspiracy also involved at least 1.1 kilograms of cocaine.

Evidence was presented during yesterday’s sentencing hearing related to the delivery of fentanyl, the use of which caused the death of another person on May 18, 2020. The victim of the fatal overdose is not identified in court documents.

According to court documents, law enforcement officers responded four times to Cattell’s residence for drug overdoses. After Cattell sold a pill to his sister, which caused her overdose, a search warrant was executed at his residence on Nov. 10, 2020. Law enforcement officers found drug paraphernalia and a Taurus handgun with a defaced serial number, which was under the pillow on Cattell’s bed. Cattell admitted selling fentanyl to a woman (who crashed her vehicle in front of his residence), his girlfriend, and his sister, who all overdosed. All of these narcotics were distributed by Cattell at his residence.

Cattell is among 11 defendants who have been convicted in this case, and the second defendant to be sentenced. Co-defendant Dominic E. Holland, 25, was sentenced on Nov. 21, 2023, to 10 years and 10 months in federal prison without parole.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maureen Brackett and Stephanie Bradshaw. It was investigated by the FBI, the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, the Platte County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Clay County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Kearney, Mo., Police Department, the Olathe, Kan., Police Department, and the Riverside, Mo., Police Department.

KC Metro Strike Force

This prosecution was brought as a part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Co-located Strike Forces Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against a continuum of priority targets and their affiliate illicit financial networks. These prosecutor-led co-located Strike Forces capitalize on the synergy created through the long-term relationships that can be forged by agents, analysts, and prosecutors who remain together over time, and they epitomize the model that has proven most effective in combating organized crime. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.