Prison sentence handed down for fatal overdose fentanyl death

A Fond du Lac man has received a 15 year sentence for supplying the fentanyl that led to a fatal overdose in the City of Fond du Lac.

Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney announced Tuesday, July 7, 2026 that Judge Anthony Nehls sentenced 37-year-old Don Oden after he was convicted of Second Degree Reckless Homicide in connection with the January 5, 2025, overdose death. The sentence includes nine years of initial confinement followed by six years of extended supervision.

According to prosecutors, investigators determined Oden sold fentanyl to the victim shortly before the fatal overdose. Evidence presented in the case included text messages, DNA recovered from drug packaging found with the victim, and the results of a lengthy narcotics investigation conducted by the Lake Winnebago Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group Drug Unit.

Toney says the sentence holds Oden accountable for trafficking deadly fentanyl and reflects the serious consequences of distributing the drug in our community.

Toney has become one of Wisconsin’s most visible prosecutors in pursuing fentanyl overdose death cases. Over the past several years, his office has secured multiple convictions in drug-induced homicide cases—a type of prosecution that many legal experts describe as complex and relatively uncommon.

County health data show that Fond du Lac’s overdose death rate has generally been below the statewide average in recent years, yet the county has maintained an aggressive prosecutorial response to fentanyl-related deaths.

A recent national feature on fentanyl prosecutions noted that Wisconsin is among the more aggressive states in filing drug-induced homicide cases and specifically singled out Fond du Lac County for bringing homicide charges in several overdose deaths involving juveniles.