Dubuque Man Who Distributed Fentanyl, Heroin, Cocaine, and Methamphetamine Sentenced to Federal Prison

A man who distributed fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine was sentenced today to more than three years in federal prison.

Michael Henry Vandermillen, Jr., age 30, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a February 6, 2024, guilty plea to one count of distribution of a controlled substance near a protected location. 

At the guilty plea, Vandermillen admitted that on April 25, 2023, in Dubuque, Iowa, he transferred methamphetamine to another person within 1,000 feet of two parks.  Evidence at the sentencing hearing showed that one month later, he distributed heroin and fentanyl to a confidential informant.  When law enforcement officers came to search his residence in May 2023, they discovered him in the bathroom, where he was attempting to hide heroin, Xanax, and Ativan by consuming the substances.  Two days later, his blood tested positive for fentanyl, cocaine, amphetamine, benzodiazepine, and THC.

Vandermillen was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Vandermillen was sentenced to 41 months’ imprisonment and must also serve a 6-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Vandermillen is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. 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 with the Dubuque Police Department and the Dubuque Drug Task Force. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 23-CR-1023.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.