Michigan man who gets drugs to a woman gets prison for her death

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA – A Michigan man has received a prison sentence and he has died.

Jay Rickert, 28, of Grand Rapids was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison by US District Court Judge Linda R. Reade in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Oct. 11. He Pleaded Guilty to Controlling the Distribution of Controlled Substance on June 14 .

"Said United States Attorney Pete Deegan in a statement.

These drugs have never been dealt with. "

Rickert admitted to ordering DMT, an illegal hallucinogenic drug, from the dark web. Rickert then had the drugs shipped directly to his friend, a 22-year-old woman who lived in Dubuque, Iowa.

He also shipped a detailed digital scale to the woman, and provided detailed instructions on the quantity of DMT.

Unbeknownst to a Rickert or the woman in Dubuque, the dark web supplier shipped fentanyl instead of DMT. DMT and Fentanyl are nearly identical in appearance.

The woman, believing the substance to be DMT, used the fentanyl and died. Rickert was talking to the woman over Skype while she used the fentanyl. After seeing her fall over, Rickert called 911. An autopsy later concluded that the cause of death was a fentanyl overdose.

Rickert had no criminal history prior to this conviction, according to a news release.