A Des Moines woman has been sentenced to 192 months in federal prison for distributing fentanyl that resulted in a fatal overdose. The sentencing took place on August 28, 2025.
Court documents state that on January 6, 2024, the Des Moines Police Department responded to the overdose death of a local man. Ashley Lynn Andrews, age 38, was identified as the source of the fentanyl involved in the incident. Following this event, law enforcement carried out several controlled purchases of fentanyl from Andrews. On April 12, 2024, officers found Andrews at a gas station slumped over her vehicle’s steering wheel and in possession of 36 grams of fentanyl.
After serving her prison sentence, Andrews will be required to complete four years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $20,150 in restitution. There is no parole available under the federal system.
Two co-defendants were also sentenced earlier this year: Earl Sandeleo Galtney, age 44 and from Cedar Rapids, received a sentence of 142 months in federal prison; Shannon D. Robertson, age 44 and from Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced to 125 months.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal for the Southern District of Iowa announced these outcomes. The case was investigated by both the Des Moines Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigations’ Central Iowa Gang Task Force.
Fentanyl is now recognized as the leading cause of drug overdose deaths across the United States. Counterfeit pills containing fentanyl often look like legitimate pharmaceuticals but can contain lethal doses. In recent years accidental overdoses have become a significant public health issue; for example, in 2023 it was reported as the top cause of death among people under age forty in thirty-seven states (https://stateline.org/2023/09/05/death-rates-for-people-under-40-have-skyrocketed-blame-fentanyl/). In Iowa specifically, opioid-related deaths reached an all-time high with 258 fatalities recorded in 2021—a rise of sixty-four percent compared with figures from two years prior—before decreasing by eight percent in 2022 (https://hhs.iowa.gov/media/11935/download).
“United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement.”
“This case was investigated by the Des Moines Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Central Iowa Gang Task Force.”
