Nicholas Steber

An area man accused of selling heroin that resulted in an Iron County man’s fatal overdose in 2017 is set to appear for his jury trial in a federal court in Green Bay, Wis.

Nicholas Steber, 33, was arraigned Oct. 23 before Magistrate Judge James Sickel in U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Steber is charged with the distribution of a substance containing heroin resulting in death, a felony punishable by a minimum of 20 years in prison.

The trial is scheduled to begin Dec. 30. Steber is jailed without bond in Brown County; his Facebook page lists him as being from Florence, Wis., and living in Norway, but federal court papers did not provide an address for him.

According to the criminal complaint, deputies from the Michigan State Police responded to a fatal overdose at an Iron County residence in September 2017.

The resident, referred to only by initials in the complaint, was found dead beside a hypodermic needle, metal spoon, lighter and a paper packet that contained heroin.

An autopsy revealed he had a single injection site mark on his left arm. Laboratory reports showed the metabolites for heroin in his system.

Family members confirmed the man previously had used controlled substances, but they believed he had been sober for several years, the complaint stated.

With their consent, authorities searched the man’s cell phone and reportedly found he had sent a number of text messages to Steber and an unnamed female in the days leading up to his overdose.

He had asked Steber to “find something good,” the complaint stated. “Big boy s—.”

Steber sent back a message days later saying he obtained “that big boy bike from the city,” the complaint stated.

The man text messaged the unnamed female Sept. 18 and arranged for her to meet Steber at a Florence County restaurant, according to the complaint.

When interviewed, the woman reportedly admitted to authorities she had traveled from Oconto County that day to meet Steber, who she claimed gave her a pack of cigarettes likely containing a bindle of heroin, the complaint states.

The woman then brought the cigarettes to the Iron County man.

The woman reportedly claimed she did not know Steber and only met him briefly. She was unable to identify his photograph, according to the complaint.

Brian Christensen can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 229, or bchristensen@ironmountaindailynews.com.