The second person charged in connection with the overdose death of a Bettendorf woman in October has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, according to electronic documents filed in Scott County District Court.
During a hearing Tuesday before District Judge Thomas Reidel, 33-year-old Lucas Mathew Seitz pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of possession of the controlled substance fentanyl with intent to distribute.
Lucas Mathew Seitz
Manslaughter is a Class D felony under Iowa law, punishable by five years in prison, while possession of fentanyl with the intent to resell is a Class C felony, punishable by five years in prison.
The charges of possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) with intent to distribute and conspiracy to commit a non-violent crime are dismissed.
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Seitz was originally scheduled to plead guilty to the same charges in May.
Under the terms of the agreement filed March 26 by Seitz’s attorney, Eric Tindal, the court would suspend Seitz’s prison sentence and sentence him to five years of probation.
The decision on the sentence will be made by the judge presiding over Seitz’s sentencing hearing, scheduled for November 8.
Seitz’s co-defendant in the case, Nicole Danielle Tucker, 34, of Davenport, has already pleaded guilty to one count each of involuntary manslaughter and delivery of the controlled substance fentanyl.
Nicole Danielle Tucker
As part of the agreement, charges of delivery of the controlled substance methamphetamine and conspiracy to commit a non-violent crime were dropped.
District Judge Henry Latham accepted Tucker’s plea agreement during a hearing May 30 in Scott County District Court.
According to the settlement agreement filed with the court, Tucker will be sentenced to five years in prison and fined $1,025 for manslaughter. She will also receive an additional 10-year sentence for drug trafficking. “Consecutive” means the sentences will run one after the other.
In separate cases, Tucker also pleaded guilty to third-degree burglary, a Class D felony, and first-degree theft, a Class C felony. The agreement calls for a five-year prison sentence for the burglary and a subsequent 10-year sentence for the theft, but those sentences will be served concurrently or at the same time as the sentences she received for the manslaughter and drug trafficking convictions.
Tucker’s sentencing is scheduled for July 25 in Scott County District Court.
Both Seitz and Tucker are jointly and severally liable for $150,000 in damages for the death of 25-year-old Kayla Slusser, who overdosed in a room at the City Center Motel in Bettendorf on the morning of October 14, 2023. Slusser died in the hospital three days later.
