DOJ: Lake Lure, NC man found guilty for mailing drugs that killed Iowa man
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa said James Adam Earwood, 38, used the U.S. Postal Service to mail heroin and fentanyl to the victim.
James Adam Earwood, 38, of Lake Lure, North Carolina, used the U.S. Postal Service to mail heroin and fentanyl to a man, causing his death, the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa said.
Following a four-day jury trial, Earwood was found guilty on October 5, 2023, for the distribution of controlled substances, heroin and fentanyl, causing the death of another.
Evidence at trial showed that on November 18, 2021, Earwood mailed a package of heroin and fentanyl to another person. He was living in North Carolina at the time and the victim was living in Dubuque, Iowa. “The victim used the heroin and fentanyl and overdosed in the parking lot of a local business in Dubuque. The victim survived the overdose,” according to the DOJ. One month later, on December 17, 2021, the victim received another package of heroin and fentanyl in the mail from Earwood. “The victim used the heroin and fentanyl and died shortly thereafter. He was found deceased by hotel staff in a hotel in Dubuque, Iowa,” said the DOJ. It was not publicly disclosed which post office Earwood used to mail the drugs.
“Evidence showed that Earwood was using social media platforms on the dark web to arrange transactions of heroin and fentanyl with other people. Investigators tracked down at least one other package that Earwood had sent through the US Mail which contained heroin and fentanyl,” the DOJ said.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ashley Corkery and Patrick Reinert, and Special Assistant United States Attorney Devra Hake, and was investigated as part of the Northern Iowa Heroin Initiative and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Dubuque Drug Task Force which includes the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office and the Dubuque Police Department, and the Rutherford County, North Carolina Drug Task Force.
The DOJ said Earwood is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be sentenced. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
Court file information may be found here: https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 22-CR-1024.
If you or someone you know needs help with substance abuse visit samhsa.gov.
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