Two Lincoln men get decades in prison on drug charges

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Two Lincoln men were sentenced to decades in prison Thursday after they were convicted on several drug charges.

On April 24, a federal jury returned guilty verdicts against 51-year-old Olen Warner and 36-year-old Ernesto Leyva.

Warner got 30 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl, fentanyl analogue and a mixture of a substance containing fentanyl.

Leyva got 25 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl, fentanyl analogue and heroin.

After they are released from prison, both Warner and Leyva will serve a five-year term of supervised release.

Since October 2019, evidence at trial showed Warner was involved in drug trafficking methamphetamine and fentanyl in Lincoln.

Leyva was involved in the distribution of fentanyl — pills and powder — and heroin in Lincoln since 2021. He also trafficked in methamphetamine.

Co-defendant Dana Hespen — who had pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy charge — had been involved in the distribution of meth in the Lincoln area since 2021.

She mainly dealt meth but would also occasionally sell fentanyl and heroin.

Phone records show the trio was working together between December 2022 and July 2023 to sell meth, fentanyl and heroin.

Warner made trips to Colorado about once a week to pick up meth and fentanyl for Hespen, Leyva and others in Lincoln to distribute.

Over the course of the conspiracy, Warner brought pounds of meth and thousands of fentanyl pills to Lincoln.

Hespen was sentenced to 10 years in prison and will serve a five-year term of supervised release.