Fentanyl Dealer Sentenced to More Than a Decade In Federal Prison

A Dubuque man who distributed fentanyl between July 2022 and October 2023 and illegally possessed a gun was sentenced on May 18, 2026, to more than ten years in federal prison.

Derrick Deonte Moore, age 31, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 22, 2025, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and distribution of fentanyl.

Evidence at plea and sentencing hearings showed that between July 1, 2022, and October 10, 2023, Moore worked with others to distribute fentanyl. In October and December 2023, Moore distributed fentanyl that caused two nonfatal overdoses. In March 2023, investigators searched Moore's home in Dubuque. They found Moore in the home and in possession of over $2,500. Investigators also found 234 fentanyl pills hidden inside a stuffed animal, five more fentanyl pills in a bag inside Moore's bedroom closet, a loaded .45 caliber pistol in the same closet, a scale, prescription drugs, and marijuana. On September 6, 2023, and October 10, 2023, Moore sold ten fentanyl pills to another person. Moore was prohibited from possessing firearms because of prior felony and domestic abuse assault convictions.

Moore was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Moore was sentenced to 137 months' imprisonment. He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

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

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael S.A. Hudson and Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Dubuque Drug Task Force, the Dubuque Police Department, the Dubuque County Sheriff's Office, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Criminalistics Laboratory.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.plLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..

The case file number is 25-CR-1036.

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