SWEETWATER COUNTY — A Rock Springs man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison following a joint investigation by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation and the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office spanning nearly two years.
Joseph David Roberts, 30, was sentenced on August 3, 2016 by Chief Federal District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or less of heroin.
He received a 60 month prison sentence to be followed by four years of supervised release.
Roberts, who was originally facing 44 to 51 months of incarceration, received an upward departure at sentencing for his involvement in the January 11, 2015 heroin overdose death of Rock Springs resident Kyle Clifton Smith, 27. Smith was found deceased in Roberts’ house north of Rock Springs, and the cause of his death was determined to be acute heroin toxicity.
An investigation by the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office and Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation revealed evidence that Smith likely ingested the fatal dose of heroin he received from Roberts at Roberts’ residence on January 10, 2015.
It is believed that Roberts was aware of Smith’s distressed condition over 27 hours before he reported Smith’s death to authorities.
The day before Smith’s death, a backpack owned by Roberts, was found by neighborhood children lying in an open area near Roberts’ house.
The backpack contained nearly 10 grams of heroin and other drugs and paraphernalia.
At sentencing, Roberts accepted responsibility for his involvement in Smith’s death. The joint investigation concluded in March 2016 when Roberts was indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to deliver heroin.
Roberts was arrested the following day in Rock Springs by Deputies of the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Mike Lowell credits the cooperative effort by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation and the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office for the successful investigation and subsequent prosecution.
Roberts’ case follows a similar joint investigation conducted in the 2014 heroin overdose death of Joseph Phillips in which 12 Sweetwater County residents were convicted for their roles in the distribution of the heroin which led to Phillips’ death.
