Waukesha - A 25-year-old man accused of being part of a heroin conspiracy that authorities say led to 11 overdoses, five of them fatal, was found guilty Thursday in two of the deaths.
Jason M. Lund of Wauwatosa entered guilty pleas and was convicted in separate Waukesha County courtrooms in the heroin overdose deaths in 2008 of David Knuth, 25, of the city of Pewaukee, and Andrew M. Goetzke, 19, of the village of Pewaukee.
As part of a plea agreement, Assistant District Attorney Sue Opper said the state will seek a total of 15 years in prison and 10 years of extended supervision for Lund when he is sentenced in January.
In June in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee, Lund pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. He is awaiting sentencing but as part of a plea agreement, a 20-year prison term will be recommended, according to federal court records. No sentencing date has been set.
Opper said the state will recommend that Lund's prison term in the deaths of Knuth and Goetzke be served concurrently with Lund's federal sentence.
Lund was among 27 people from Milwaukee, Chicago and Waukesha County who were arrested in July 2008 as the result of an investigation dubbed Operation Lake Effect by federal, state and local authorities. Law enforcement began investigating the heroin ring in early 2007.
Knuth overdosed July 3, 2008, and died two days later. Goetzke died June 6.
Lund provided the heroin to Knuth and Goetzke, according to court records.
Candice J. Haid, 22, of Waukesha also was charged in Knuth's death. In September, she was sentenced in Waukesha County Circuit Court to 10 years in prison and five years under extended supervision.