Lincoln woman gets 20 years in prison for fentanyl overdose that resulted in death

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A Lincoln woman will spend two decades behind bars for selling fentanyl that caused a fatal overdose.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said 46-year-old Regina Rodriguez was sentenced Monday to 20 years in prison for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl that resulted in the death of another person.

On June 21, 2022, a man was found dead at a Lincoln halfway home.

Authorities found a broken pill, a syringe and a spoon containing a blue and white substance in the man’s room, the attorney’s office said.

Two blue pills were also discovered in his wallet.

Testing at the Nebraska State Patrol laboratory found that the pills and substance in the spoon contained fentanyl and another drug, 4-ANPP.

An autopsy showed that the man died from fentanyl toxicity, the attorney’s office said.

Text messages on the victim’s phone led investigators to Rodriguez and her husband, Arnaldo Rodriguez-Santini.

During an interview with narcotics investigators, Rodriguez admitted that she and her husband used pills containing fentanyl.

The attorney’s office said Rodriguez and her husband met with the victim and gave him five pills.

After her release from prison, Rodriguez will serve a three-year term of supervised release.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Rodriguez-Santini will be in court on Tuesday.