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Press Release

Dubuque Heroin, Fentanyl, and Meth Dealer Sentenced to Over 33 Years in Federal Prison After Causing Overdose

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Iowa

A man who arranged a heroin and fentanyl distribution in Dubuque that led to a near‑fatal overdose was sentenced July 29, 2022, to more than 33 years in federal prison.

Derrick Darryl Trawick, age 40, from Chicago, Illinois, received the prison term after a January 27, 2022 jury verdict finding him guilty of aiding and abetting the distribution of heroin and fentanyl near a playground.

The evidence at trial showed that Trawick was a heroin dealer in Dubuque who was nicknamed “Worm” and “KG.”  During the early morning hours of May 31, 2019, two of his heroin customers contacted him to purchase a $40 bag of heroin.  Trawick and another man drove to meet the customers and then directed them back to Trawick’s residence on Walnut Street, which was around the corner from the playground at Jefferson Park.  Trawick and the other man then returned to Trawick’s residence and went inside.  A short time later, the other man exited the residence, walked to the customers’ car, and sold them the purported heroin, which actually contained both heroin and fentanyl.  The customers then drove to a nearby motel and used the heroin and fentanyl.  One of those customers suffered an overdose during which she lost consciousness and stopped breathing for several minutes.  She regained consciousness after being given Narcan by her companions and chest compressions by a first responder.  In the January 2022 trial, the jury did not find that the use of the drugs Trawick arranged to distribute caused the serious bodily injury to the customer.

Evidence presented at sentencing showed that Trawick not only sold heroin and fentanyl in Dubuque, but that he also sold large quantities of ice methamphetamine with another individual in 2018 and 2019—totaling at least 4.5 kilograms.  The Court also found, under a lower standard of proof than applied at the trial, that the heroin and fentanyl that Trawick arranged to distribute to the customer had caused her overdose and injury.  Information at sentencing also showed that Trawick had previously been convicted of six other felony-level crimes, including aggravated criminal sex abuse of a victim aged between 13 and 16 years old, aggravated robbery, a violation of sex offender registry requirements, domestic abuse assault causing injury, and assault with intent to commit sexual abuse.

Trawick was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Trawick was sentenced to 400 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a six-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Trawick is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Dubuque Drug Task Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Dan Chatham and Jason Norwood.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl

The case file number is 21-CR-1016-CJW.

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Updated August 2, 2022

Topic
Drug Trafficking