Northern District of Iowa

A man who sought out and enticed a 12-year-old for sexual activity was sentenced on May 7, 2021, to 14 years in federal prison.

Nathan Landrum, age 40, from Carnarvon, IA, was convicted of enticement of a minor.

In a plea agreement, Landrum admitted that in April 2020, using Facebook Messenger, he knowingly enticed a 12-year-old child to his apartment for sexual activity.  After attempting to convince the child to send sexual images of themself, Landrum eventually convinced the child to go his bedroom with him where he admits he intended to engage in sexual activity with the child.  DNA testing confirmed the presence of sperm cells closely matching Landrum’s in the child’s underwear.            

Landrum was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Landrum was sentenced to 168 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a 6-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Landrum is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ron Timmons and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Sac County Sheriff’s Office. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-4046.

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A Dubuque man who possessed stolen firearms and sold drugs near a city park was sentenced today to eight years in federal prison.

Jordan Dakota Ness, also known as “Bubba,” age 29, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a November 18, 2021 guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.

Evidence at detention, plea, and sentencing hearings showed that, in August 2016, law enforcement officers executed a series of search warrants at a home Ness shared with his father, twin brother, and others in Dubuque.  In Ness’s basement bedroom, officers found large quantities of marijuana.  Just outside of the bedroom, officers discovered a loaded pistol on a shelf.  Officers also located a locked cabinet nearby that contained multiple guns and magazines, including a gun stolen in a burglary in Wisconsin, a semi-automatic rifle with an obliterated serial number, and two 25-round, high-capacity magazines.

Ness has a lengthy criminal history, including ten convictions over a ten-year period.  Ness’s other convictions include burglary, harassment, and driving while drugged.  Ness’s home was located near a public park in Dubuque.

Ness was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Ness was sentenced to 96 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws.  Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities.  For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/dl?inline.

Ness is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.  In March 2019, Ness’s father, Neil George Ness, was sentenced to 37 months’ imprisonment after law enforcement officers found an unregistered short-barrel shotgun in another locked cabinet near Neil George Ness’s bedroom during the same search.  In January 2021, Ness’s twin brother, Jacob Dylan Ness, who is also a felon, was sentenced to five years’ probation for possessing an unloaded rifle that officers found in his bedroom during the same search.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tim Vavricek and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Dubuque Police Department. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-CR-1022-CJW.

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Care Initiatives, a Texas corporation with a home office in West Des Moines, Iowa, has agreed to repay the United States $214,200 to resolve claims the United States was entitled to restitution for the federal share of Medicaid funds the facility received for an approximately 10 week period while residents at Dubuque Specialty Care, a Care Initiatives facility, were suffering from or testing positive for COVID-19.  The United States alleged that repayment of these funds was warranted due to Dubuque Specialty Care’s practices surrounding COVID-19 infections, including the facility’s procedures and criteria for screening symptomatic employees.

Care Initiatives cooperated during the investigation and did not admit to any liability as part of the settlement agreement.  

“Our office expects that recipients of federal healthcare funds take appropriate steps to maintain beneficiary safety, to protect our district’s most vulnerable residents, and to ensure their practices comport with recognized standards, especially during this unprecedented time,” said Acting United States Attorney Sean R. Berry.  

“Being a healthcare provider in the Medicare and Medicaid programs is a privilege, not a right. It is incumbent upon these providers to protect the safety of beneficiaries under their care, especially during this pandemic,” said Special Agent in Charge Curt L. Muller of Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “Our investigators, working closely with our law enforcement partners, will continue to thoroughly investigate allegations of substandard safety practices.”

Individuals with direct knowledge of facilities in the Northern District of Iowa failing to comply with recognized standards and procedures during the pandemic are encouraged to report any such failures to the appropriate authorities, including the United States Attorney’s Office.  The case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Jake Schunk and investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. 

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In honor of National Police Week, Acting U.S. Attorney Sean R. Berry recognizes the service and sacrifice of federal, state, local, and Tribal law enforcement. This year, the week is observed Sunday, May 9 through Saturday, May 15, 2021.

“This week is a time to honor our law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation,” said Attorney General Garland. “I am constantly inspired by the extraordinary courage and dedication with which members of law enforcement act each day, putting their lives on the line to make our communities safer. To members of law enforcement and your families: we know that not a single day, nor a single week, is enough to recognize your service and sacrifice. On behalf of the entire Department of Justice, you have our unwavering support and eternal gratitude.”

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is grateful for the important work of our law enforcement partners – federal, state, local, and tribal,” said Acting United States Attorney Berry.  “These brave individuals stand on the front lines of our communities, keeping us safe every day.  I join the Attorney General in thanking all officers for their bravery and commitment to protecting others at their own risk.”

In 1962, President Kennedy issued the first proclamation for Peace Officers Memorial Day and National Police Week to remember and honor law enforcement officers for their service and sacrifices.  Peace Officers Memorial Day, which every year falls on May 15, specifically honors law enforcement officers killed or disabled in the line of duty.

Each year, during National Police Week, our nation celebrates the contributions of law enforcement from around the country, recognizing their hard work, dedication, loyalty, and commitment to keeping our communities safe. This year the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted law enforcement officers’ courage and unwavering devotion to the communities that they have sworn to serve.

During the Roll Call of Heroes, a ceremony coordinated by the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), more than 300 officers will be honored.  Based on data submitted to and analyzed by the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), of the law enforcement officers who died nationwide in the line of duty in 2020, nearly 60 percent succumbed to COVID-19.

Additionally, according to statistics reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) through the Law Enforcement Officer Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) Program, 46 law enforcement officers died as a result of felonious acts and 47 died in accidents in 2020.  LEOKA statistics can be found on FBI’s Crime Data Explorer website. 

The names of the 394 fallen officers who have been added in 2020 to the wall at the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial will be read on Thursday, May 13, 2021, during a Virtual Candlelight Vigil, which will be livestreamed to the public at 8:00 pm EDT. The Police Week in-person public events, originally scheduled for May, have been rescheduled due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns to October 13-17, 2021. An in-person Candlelight Vigil event is scheduled for October 14, 2021.

Those who wish to view the Virtual Candlelight Vigil on May 13, 2021, can watch on the NLEOMF YouTube channel found at https://www.youtube.com/user/TheNLEOMF. The FOP’s Roll Call of Heroes can be viewed at www.fop.net. To view the schedule of virtual Police Week events in May, please view NLEOMF’s Police Week Flyer.   

To learn more about National Police Week in-person events scheduled for October, please visit www.policeweek.org.

A Decorah man who unlawfully possessed a gun while a drug user was sentenced yesterday to 46 months in prison.

Lester Wallace Erickson, III, age 30, from Decorah, Iowa, received the prison sentence after a December 21, 2020, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

Information disclosed at sentencing and in his plea agreement showed that in October 2019 police officers responded to a storage unit in Ridgeway, Iowa.  They found Erickson passed out in a vehicle.  He had recently used heroin and fentanyl and overdosed.  Erickson was treated for the overdose.  Officers searched the vehicle and found a gun in a nearby bag.  Erickson had stolen the gun a few days prior from a friend.  He intended to pawn the gun.  In 2018, Erickson was convicted of a felony-controlled substance offense.  Erickson has twelve adult criminal convictions, nine of which were committed while he was on court supervision.  Erickson also has one conviction for a violent offense. 

Erickson was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Erickson was sentenced to 46 months’ imprisonment.  He was ordered to make payment of $100 to the special assessment fund.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Alex Geocaris and Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Corkery and investigated by the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Department, the Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. The United States Attorney’s Office has prosecuted this case with support from its Project Guardian partners.  For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/dl?inline.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-CR-2050.                               

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A Guatemalan man who possessed false identification documents was sentenced today to two months in federal prison.

Miguel Padilla, age 46, a citizen of Guatemala illegally present in the United States and living in Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a March 3, 2021, guilty plea to one count of unlawful possession of identification documents.

In a plea agreement, Padilla admitted that in August 2019, he possessed a fraudulent social security card and a fraudulent permanent resident card, also known as a “green card,” in connection with completing paperwork to obtain employment in Waterloo, Iowa.  The account numbers on the identification documents were assigned to other people.  Social Security and Permanent Resident cards are documents used to prove identity and are prescribed by statute or regulation for entry into or as evidence of authorized stay or employment in the United States.

Padilla was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Padilla was sentenced to 60 days’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Padilla was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the United States Marshal on May 21, 2021.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-CR-02048.

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A Guatemalan man who illegally returned to the United States after being deported once was sentenced yesterday to 15 months in federal prison. 

Moses Suarez-Garcia age 39, a citizen of Guatemala, illegally present in the United States and residing in Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a January 15, 2021, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry into the United States. 

Information disclosed at sentencing showed that in November 2019, Dubuque police officers responded to a report of sexual abuse.  Suarez-Garcia and another woman were located.  Suarez-Garcia was charged with, and ultimately convicted of, assault with intent to commit sexual abuse.  Officers learned through their investigation that Suarez-Garcia had been removed from the United States in 2012 but had since illegally reentered. 

Suarez-Garcia was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Suarez-Garcia was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment.  He was ordered to make payment of $100 to the special assessment fund.  He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-CR-1038.                               

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A man who robbed and murdered his drug dealer was convicted by a jury today after a nine-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Matthew Barrett Robbins, age 48, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was convicted of robbery affecting interstate commerce, conspiracy to commit robbery affecting interstate commerce, and using, carrying, brandishing, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence resulting in murder.  The verdict was returned this morning following more than nine hours of jury deliberations.

The jury found that Robbins and others planned to rob a local drug dealer, and then robbed the dealer on May 31, 2014.  The jury also found that Robbins used a firearm during the robbery, and that the firearm was fired, killing the victim. 

“Matthew Robbins used a gun to steal drugs and money,” said Acting United States Attorney Sean R. Berry.  “Robbins’s actions resulted in the death of the man he robbed.  Today’s verdict holds him accountable for that death.  This verdict was made possible by the extraordinary cooperation and hard work of more than a dozen law enforcement agencies.”

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Robbins remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Robbins faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $750,000 fine, and 11 years’ of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lisa C. Williams and Emily K. Nydle and was investigated by the Marion Police Department, the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Iowa City Police Department, the United States Marshals Service, the Davenport Police Department, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, and the Daytona Beach Shores Florida Police Department.  Assistance was also provided by the Waypoint Services Survivor's Program in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 19-cr-53.

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A man who sold methamphetamine out of his residence in Fairfax, Iowa, and possessed firearms was sentenced today to more than 24 years in federal prison.

Jason Richard Corey, age 54, formerly from Fairfax, Iowa, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, distribution of a controlled substance, two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime during a November 2020 jury trial. 

The evidence at trial showed that Corey sold a quarter pound of methamphetamine to an individual in August 2019 at his home in Fairfax, Iowa.  Shortly after the sale, Corey was in a car that was stopped and found to have more than 70 grams of methamphetamine hidden in the bottom of a disinfectant wipes container and a bag inside the car.  Law enforcement then searched Corey’s home and found a half pound of methamphetamine and two firearms.  Additional evidence showed that Corey dealt more than 25 pounds of methamphetamine during 2019 and that one of his methamphetamine sources gave him two firearms for his protection.

Corey was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Corey was sentenced to 295 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Corey is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.         

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Nydle and was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Marion Police Department, the Hiawatha Police Department, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-cr-00029.

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A Chicago man who distributed heroin to a person who died from using it, was convicted by a jury today, after a three-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Eric DeAngelo Griggs, age 40, from Chicago, Illinois, was convicted of one count of distribution of heroin that resulted in the death of a young Cedar Falls woman on August 31, 2018, one count of using Facebook Messenger to facilitate the heroin distribution, and one count of using a cellular telephone to facilitate another heroin distribution on September 1, 2018.  Griggs was found not guilty of possession with intent to distribute heroin for heroin seized from a vehicle in which he was traveling on September 1, 2018.  The verdict was returned today following about nine hours of jury deliberations.

The evidence at trial showed that Griggs was a source of supply of heroin for some individuals in Waterloo, Iowa, area during the summer of 2018.  On August 31, 2018, Griggs arranged to distribute $100 worth of heroin to a young Cedar Falls woman via Facebook messenger.  She subsequently returned to a residence in Cedar Falls, used the heroin, and then died of acute heroin intoxication.  Within a few hours after her body was found, officers were able to text Griggs using her phone to set up another heroin transaction. Griggs came to the location agreed upon with the undercover officer and was identified as the same person who had communicated with the young woman the day before.   

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Griggs remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Griggs faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Reinert and Special Assistant United States Attorney Dillan Edwards and was investigated as part of the Northern Iowa Heroin Initiative and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Waterloo Police Department, the Cedar Falls Police Department, the Tri-County Drug Task Force, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 19-CR-02062.

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Two men who used credit card skimmers in an attempt to obtain the debit card information of 183 people were sentenced on April 23, 2021, to 10 months each in federal prison.

Stefan Daniel Busoi, age 30, and Razvan Marian Diculescu, age 29, both from Romania, received the prison terms after November 2, 2020 guilty pleas to possession of device-making equipment.

Information at sentencing showed that bank employees and law enforcement officers found credit card skimmers and pinhole cameras on three ATMs in Dubuque, Iowa, on June 17, 2020.  Using traffic camera and ATM footage, officers determined that Busoi and Diculescu installed the skimmers and cameras on June 15, 2020.  Officers arrested Busoi and Diculescu on June 18, 2020, at one of the ATMs when they returned for the skimmers.  While the skimmers were in place, 183 people used the three ATMs.  Busoi and Diculescu, who were in the United States unlawfully, possessed fraudulent Greek passports at the time of their arrest and were initially charged as John Does.  

Busoi and Diculescu were sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Busoi and Disculescu were each sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment.  They must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyndra Lundquist and investigated by the Dubuque Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States State Department. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-CR-1027.

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A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine pled guilty April 19, 2021, in federal court in Sioux City.

Daniel Moss, 45, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and illegal possession of a firearm.  Previously, in 2009, Moss was convicted of another drug felony offense in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine within a protected location, and employment or use of person under 18 to assist in conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

At the plea hearing, Moss admitted that from June 2020 through about July 5, 2020, he conspired to distribute more than 50 grams of pure methamphetamine to others in the Fort Dodge, Iowa area.  On or about July 5, 2020, Moss was involved in a hit and run accident with another vehicle.  After fleeing the scene, Fort Dodge police officers pursued Moss and ultimately caught him that same day, at which time Moss assaulted a police officer and a loaded handgun fell from his waistband. The firearm was later determined to be stolen.  Moss also had approximately $2,500 and a black Nike sports duffel bag he discarded as he fled the accident.  A search of the Nike sports bag revealed a drug ledger, paperwork with Moss’ name, syringes, baggies with residue, a scale, a cell phone, approximately $14,500, and approximately 2 grams of methamphetamine.  Another bag found within Moss’ abandoned vehicle contained approximately 54 grams of pure methamphetamine, a scale, and a pipe used for ingesting controlled substances.  Moss’s prior felony conviction, and drug use, prohibited him from possessing a gun.   

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Moss remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  On the conspiracy conviction, Moss faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $20,000,000 fine, and at least 10 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.  On the firearm conviction, Moss faces a maximum sentence of not more than 10 years’ imprisonment without the possibility of parole, a fine of not more than $250,000, and a term of supervised release of not more than 3 years.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities.        

The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by Fort Dodge Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and Iowa DCI. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 21-3002.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.

Acting U.S. Attorney Sean R. Berry joins the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in announcing that on April 24th, DEA will hold its 20th National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.  The biannual event will be held at thousands of collection sites around the country.  The event is an effort to rid homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. ­

“The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs,” Acting U.S. Attorney Berry stated. “According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioid overdose deaths have increased during the pandemic. Prescription medications often end up in the wrong hands, fueling an epidemic that kills more Americans than car accidents.  DEA Take Back Day provides a way for any American to step up and help combat this crisis by simply cleaning out their medicine cabinet.”

Last October Americans turned in 492.7 tons (985,392 pounds) of prescription drugs at collection sites operated by the DEA and more than 4,800 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its 19 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in over 13 million pounds—more than 6,800 tons—of pills.  The disposal service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.  The DEA cannot accept liquids, needles, or sharps, only pills or patches.

Flushing medications down the toilet or throwing them in the trash pose potential safety and health hazards. This initiative addresses the public safety and public health issues that surround medications languishing in home cabinets, becoming highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse.

For more information or to locate a collection site near you, go the DEA web site at https://takebackday.dea.gov/ where you can search by zip code, city, or state.

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A Sioux City woman who stole government funds using a COVID-19 unemployment scheme pled guilty on April 20, 2021, in federal court in Sioux City.

Linda Bosquez, age 59, from Sioux City, Iowa, was convicted of theft of government funds.  In a plea agreement, Bosquez admitted that from April 30, 2020 through July 22, 2020, she stole at least $24,235 from the United States Department of the Treasury.

Bosquez falsely claimed, in her name and those of others, unemployment benefits, through the States of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and Ohio, including benefits related to COVID-19 relief funds to which she was not entitled.

Bosquez received a total of at least 35 ACH credits (electronic deposits) for unemployment insurance claims (32 from Georgia, 1 from Michigan, 1 from Ohio, and 1 from Arizona).   Bosquez made approximately 11 cash withdrawals following unemployment insurance credits, totaling approximately $27,299.30.  Bosquez was receiving benefits from other states via ACH and prepaid cards in the names of other individuals, while she was also receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits.   

The case was prosecuted by United States Attorney Ron Timmons and was investigated by the United States Department of Labor and the Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

Rooting out COVID-19 fraud is a priority of the Department of Justice. On March 27, 2020, the President signed the CARES Act, which provides emergency assistance to individuals, families, and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, including increased unemployment benefits.

These prosecutions are an example of the Department of Justice’s strong commitment to combating fraud and criminal activity related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Sentencing for Bosquez will be before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand and will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Bosquez will remain free on bond pending sentencing.  Bosquez faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 21-CR-4029.

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CEDAR RAPIDS, IA – The Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime (“OVC”) and the United States Attorney Offices for the Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa will join communities nationwide in observing National Crime Victims’ Rights Week and celebrating victims’ rights, protections and services. This year’s observance takes place April 18-24 and is the 40th anniversary of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.

OVC leads communities throughout the country in their annual observances of NCVRW by promoting victims’ rights and honoring crime victims and those who advocate on their behalf. This year’s theme - Support Victims. Build Trust. Engage Communities. - celebrates the contributions that we all can make toward building trust in our community’s capacity to support the healing journeys of crime victims. Trust is collective as well as individual, so we are honoring both the individual victims in our community and the groups engaged in building networks of understanding and support.

In Iowa, Acting United States Attorneys Sean Berry and Richard Westphal announced winners for five awards based on their service to victims in Iowa.  In the Northern District of Iowa, the following award was announced:

• The Award for Excellence in Victim Services is presented to Cinnamon Mawdsley from the Kossuth County Attorney’s office. Ms. Mawdsley has worked as the Kossuth County Victim/Witness Coordinator for seventeen years. She has demonstrated a passion for assisting crime victims and survivors through the criminal justice process. Ms. Mawdsley also provides victim assistance training to her colleagues. Ms. Mawdsley’s great work has been recognized by the victims she supports, her co-workers in the Kossuth County Attorney’s Office, and law enforcement organizations and other allied professionals.

“For nearly two decades, Cinnamon Mawdsley has dedicated countless hours to serving crime victims and survivors,” said Acting United States Attorney Berry.  “In doing so, she has set a high standard for assisting victims during a difficult process.  Her work has impacted hundreds of victims, law enforcement officers, and community members.”

In the Southern District of Iowa, the following awards were announced:

• The Law Enforcement Victim Services Award is presented to

-Investigator Brady Carney of the Des Moines Police Department,

Investigator Carney’s tireless work to help multiple victims in a large-scale sex trafficking investigation was critical to supporting federal charges. His relentless efforts have not only provided evidence to support prosecution, but also invaluable assistance to victims from all over the country.

-Investigator Michael Sieren of the Ottumwa Police Department, Throughout his career, Investigator Sieren’s fierce dedication to holding violent offenders accountable was outmatched only by his unwavering concern for protecting victim’s safety. The Ottumwa community is a safer, better place as the result of Investigator Sieren’s perseverance and compassion.

-Detective Erin Costanzo of the Des Moines Police Department, As a member of the DART (Domestic Abuse Resource Team) at the Des Moines Police Department since 2006, Detective Costanzo is on the front lines of domestic abuses cases. She has regularly provided follow up investigation for state criminal prosecutions, while at the same time providing valuable access to resources and support for victims. Because of her commitment, countless victims have found a lifeline to safer and happier lives.

• The award for Excellence in Victim Services is awarded to Nicole Norton/Victim Witness Coordinator at the Story County Attorney’s Office. In their time of need, Nicole Norton has selflessly provided vital assistance to Story County victims, specifically victims of violent crime and sexual abuse. Her empathy, compassion, and willingness to go the extra mile has clearly made a difference in countless victims’ lives, and the successful prosecution of the involved criminal offenders. 

“These awards proudly recognize the exceptional efforts of four individuals providing assistance to federal and state victims in the Southern District of Iowa,” said Acting United States Attorney Westphal. “Advocacy for the rights and safety of victims is a cogent reminder of the long-term human impact of these crimes. The service of these four individuals, and other state and federal victim advocates, are a vital component of our criminal justice system.”

Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first Victims’ Rights Week in 1981, putting crime victims' rights, needs, and concerns in a prominent spot on the American agenda. He also established the President's Task Force on Victims of Crime, which laid the groundwork for a national network of services and legal safeguards for crime victims.

For more information on how to create your own public campaigns to raise awareness about crime victims’ rights online and at events throughout the year, please visit: https://www.ovc.ojp.gov/

A man who received methamphetamine by mail for redistribution pled guilty April 16, 2021, in federal court in Sioux City.

Rafael Perez-Mercado, 29, from Belmond, Iowa, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. During the investigation, it was also determined that Perez-Mercado was in the United States illegally.

At the plea hearing, Perez-Mercado admitted that between on or about September 2020 and continuing to on or about October 22, 2020, he and others were responsible for the distribution of over ten pounds of methamphetamine in the Wright County area.  On October 8, 2020, law enforcement intercepted a package from Mexico destined to be ultimately delivered to Perez-Mercado.  On October 22, 2020, law enforcement made a controlled delivery of the package to Perez-Mercado’s residence.  Perez-Mercado was captured while exiting the rear of his residence as a law enforcement agent attempted to make contact with him at the front door.  Law enforcement seized nine 1-pound packages of methamphetamine from a bag dropped by Perez-Mercado as he attempted to flee from the agents.  Later that same day, during the execution of a search warrant at Perez-Mercado’s residence, law enforcement seized two 1-pound packages of methamphetamine from inside a statute delivered to Perez-Mercado.  Law enforcement also found evidence of methamphetamine smuggling in Perez-Mercado’s garage.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Perez-Mercado remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Perez-Mercado faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least 5 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Wright County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa DCI, Homeland Security Investigations/ICE, and Eagle Grove Police Department. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-3047. 

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A man who defrauded the Social Security Administration out of more than $105,000 over a five-year period was sentenced on April 16, 2021, to one year and one day in federal prison.

Dustin Francis Ruzicka, age 50, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a November 10, 2020 guilty plea to Social Security disability insurance benefits fraud.

In a plea agreement, Ruzicka admitted that he knowingly failed to report his employment, his income, and improvement in function to the Social Security Administration between January 2011 and October 2016.  Information from sentencing and a plea agreement showed that Ruzicka began receiving Social Security disability benefits in 1992 for plantar fasciitis and adjustment disorder.  In 2004, Ruzicka started a stand-up comedy act, “Bustin Dustin,” and, in 2010, Ruzicka began working for Visalus, a dietary supplements company.  Agents with the Social Security Office of Inspector General investigated Ruzicka, including by observing one of his stand-up comedy shows.  During the performance, agents saw that Ruzicka was continuously on his feet and did not appear to be in any pain.  When the agents identified themselves and interviewed Ruzicka at his residence several months later, he walked with a noticeable limp.  On social media, Ruzicka posted about his earnings, his “entrepreneurship,” his “retirement,” and posed with his BMW.

Ruzicka was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Ruzicka was sentenced to twelve months and one day’s imprisonment.  He was ordered to make $105,676 in restitution to the Social Security Administration.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Ruzicka was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyndra Lundquist and investigated by Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-CR-94.

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A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine pled guilty April 15, 2021, in federal court in Sioux City.

Brett Michael Walking Eagle, 41, from Sioux City, Iowa, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine within 1000 feet of a protected location.

At the plea hearing, Walking Eagle admitted that on or about December 2, 2019, he and an individual cooperating with law enforcement agreed that Walking Eagle would either sell or coordinate the sale of approximately 6 ounces of methamphetamine to the cooperating individual.  In return, Walking Eagle requested roughly a half ounce of the 6 ounces for himself.  Walking Eagle instructed the individual cooperating with law enforcement to travel to the Boys and Girls Home parking lot, in Sioux City, Iowa to meet with another person who would provide the methamphetamine.   

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Walking Eagle remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Walking Eagle faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 80 years’ imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least 8 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-4086. 

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A Dubuque man was sentenced on April 16, 2021 to 78 months in prison for unlawfully possessing a stolen gun.

Christopher Nicholas Roth, age 39, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison sentence after a November 5, 2020 guilty plea to possession a firearm by a prohibited person. 

Information disclosed at sentencing and at his plea hearing showed that, in April 2020, Roth became upset with a group of people and threatened at least one of them, causing the police to be called.  When officers located Roth later, he was in possession of a loaded gun, which he had recently stolen from someone he knew.  Roth admitted he was a user of methamphetamine and marijuana.  Roth has 27 adult criminal convictions, including convictions for theft, attempted burglary, harassment, domestic abuse, and OWI.  Fourteen of Roth’s prior convictions were committed while he was on probation for another offense.  Seven of Roth’s prior convictions include physical violence or threatening others. 

Roth was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Roth was sentenced to 78 months’ imprisonment.  He was ordered to make payment of $100 to the special assessment fund.  He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Alex Geocaris and investigated by the Dubuque Police Department, the Dubuque Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/dl?inline.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-CR-1014.

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A man who left a halfway house while still serving a federal term of imprisonment was sentenced on April 16, 2021, to another six months in federal prison.

Julius Marvell Sullivan, age 28, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 1, 2020 guilty plea to escape from custody.

On April 3, 2019, Sullivan was convicted of distribution of a controlled substance within a protected location and sentenced to thirty months’ imprisonment.  In a plea agreement, Sullivan admitted that the Bureau of Prisons transferred him to a halfway house in June 2020 to serve out the remainder of his sentence.  On October 7, 2020, Sullivan signed out of the halfway house and then failed to return as required.  The United States Marshals Service arrested Sullivan inside a beauty shop on October 28, 2020. 

Sullivan was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Sullivan was sentenced to 6 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system. Sullivan is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyndra Lundquist and investigated by the United States Marshals’ Service. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-CR-85.

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A man who received child pornography was sentenced April 14, 2021, to more than 11 years in federal prison.

Russell Roy Wilson, age 30, from Battle Creek, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 3, 2020, guilty plea to one count of receipt of child pornography. 

In a plea agreement, Wilson admitted that between November 2016 and October 2018, in the Northern District of Iowa, he knowingly received visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct using a cell phone. During the execution of a search warrant at Wilson’s residence on or about October 18, 2018, officers seized items belonging to Wilson which after forensic examination were found contain child pornography.  Wilson has failed to comply with the sex offender registry guidelines on a number of occasions.

Wilson was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Wilson was sentenced to 135 months’ imprisonment.  He was ordered to make $12,000 in restitution.  He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Wilson is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mikala Steenholdt and investigated by The Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and Ida County Sheriff’s Office.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 19-CR-4043.

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A convicted felon, and armed drug dealer, who unlawfully possessed a gun was sentenced April 14, 2021 to more than eight years in federal prison.

Gregory Sewalson, age 34, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 7, 2020, guilty plea to illegal possession of a firearm as a felon.  Evidence presented by the United States at the detention, change of plea, and sentencing hearings revealed on September 14, 2019, when officers executed search and arrest warrants for defendant, he was in his basement apartment.  Instead of surrendering, he hid his gun in a ceiling tile in his bedroom, scattered more than 65 grams of pure (actual) methamphetamine throughout his basement apartment, and initially refused to surrender to law enforcement.  Sewalson had previously been convicted of felony theft in 2014 and felony disarming a peace officer in 2017. He was also convicted of possession of a controlled substance 3rd offense in 2018.   

Sentencing was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Sewalson was sentenced to 102 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Sewalson is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/dl?inline.

The case was investigated by the Sioux City Police Department and the United States Department of Justice -- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-4025

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A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine pled guilty April 15, 2021, in federal court in Sioux City.  Robert Board, 45, originally from Brownsville, Texas, more recently living in Medalia, Minnesota, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

At the plea hearing, Board admitted that from July 2019 through June 2020, he was involved in the distribution of more than 500 grams of mixed methamphetamine and more than 50 grams of pure methamphetamine.  In July and August 2019, Board was involved in the distribution of over one pound of pure methamphetamine to an informant in controlled drug operations with law enforcement.  Board also admitted to obtaining at least 12 kilograms of methamphetamine and at least 73 pounds of marijuana from sources in California and Washington to transport to Minnesota and Iowa for further distribution.   

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Board was taken into United States Marshal custody and will remain in custody pending sentencing.  Board faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least 5 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.   

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-4065.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.

A Sioux City man who smuggled goods into the United States pled guilty April 15, 2021, in federal court in Sioux City.

Lloyd Clark, age 72, from Sioux City, Iowa was convicted of smuggling goods into the United States.  In a plea agreement, Clark admitted in October 2020, Customs and Border Protection seized parcels coming into the United States from China, one of which was falsely labeled as “spiral tube” and addressed to Clark at his residence in Sioux City.  On November 12, 2020, law enforcement seized 7 silencers, 1 modified rifle with an installed silencer, and 1 WWII-era machine gun from Clark’s home.  Clark did not have legal authority to possess the silencers and firearms. 

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Clark remains free on bond pending sentencing.  Clark faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ron Timmons and was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 21-4030.

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A Cedar Rapids man, responsible for possessing a gun while using marijuana and being a felon, was sentenced today to 60 months in prison.

Marcus Lynn Brown, Jr., age 20, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison sentence after a November 10, 2020 guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

Information disclosed at sentencing and at his plea hearing showed that, in May 2020, Cedar Rapids police officers stopped a vehicle Brown was a passenger in because Brown had active arrest warrants.  Once the vehicle stopped, Brown tried to run from police and fought with them as he was being arrested.  Brown left a gun in the vehicle just before running.  Officers located the gun, which was loaded.  The gun had Brown’s DNA on it.  Brown had marijuana in his pocket and tested positive for using marijuana.  Brown has five prior adult criminal convictions, three of which involved violence or firearms. 

Brown was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Brown was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment.  He was ordered to make payment of $100 to the special assessment fund.  He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Corkery and investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/dl?inline.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number 20-CR-79.

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A man who distributed pounds of methamphetamine was sentenced on April 15, 2021, to more than 20 years in federal prison.

Jamie Allen Medulan, age 46, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after an October 22, 2020 guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possessing a firearm during and in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

On July 13, 2020, officers searched a hotel room being used by Medulan and located more than five kilograms of “ice” methamphetamine, two firearms, $31,448 in cash, and other evidence of drug trafficking.  Medulan later admitted receiving more than 50 pounds of methamphetamine from his source over the course of months.  Medulan’s criminal history includes convictions in 31 separate cases, including convictions related to theft, assault, burglary, and manufacturing of methamphetamine.

Medulan was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Medulan was sentenced to 251 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Medulan is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities.  For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/dl?inline.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Nydle and investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of by the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, the Marion Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 20-CR-55.

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A Cedar Falls man who illegally acquired and possessed firearms after shooting a man in the face in 2017 was sentenced today to more than 5 years in federal prison.

DeShaun Anthony Bullock, Jr., age 29, from Cedar Falls, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 2020 guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a drug user.

Evidence at sentencing showed that Bullock shot a Waterloo man in the face in March 2017.  Bullock was acquitted of a charge related to the March 2017 shooting in state court; however, after the acquittal, he admitted to the shooting in text messages.  In July 2018, Bullock fraudulently obtained a state permit to carry weapons by lying about his drug use on the application form.  In March 2019, Bullock possessed a firearm during a drug transaction.  After officers observed the drug transaction, they conducted a traffic stop on Bullock’s vehicle and seized the firearm and marijuana.  A month later, in April 2019, Bullock fraudulently and illegally obtained a second firearm by lying about his drug use on an ATF form required to purchase the firearm.  In July 2019, officers executed a search warrant at Bullock’s residence and seized the firearm he bought in April 2019 and marijuana.  Bullock admitted to officers that he had been a user of marijuana since he was 13 years old. 

Bullock was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Bullock was sentenced to 63 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Bullock is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/dl?inline.

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Dillan Edwards and investigated by a Federal Task Force composed of the Waterloo Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms assisted by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-CR-02018.

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A Sioux City man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine around the tri-state area pled guilty April 15, 2021, in federal court in Sioux City.

Leroy Eric McCoy, age 39, from Sioux City, Iowa was convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.  In a plea agreement, McCoy admitted to conspiring to distributing large quantities of methamphetamine around the tri-state area.  McCoy was previously convicted in 2005 of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine near a private location and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. 

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  McCoy remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  McCoy faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $20,000,000 fine, and term of five years up to life of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ron Timmons and was investigated by the Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-4039.

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A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced April 12, 2021, in federal court in Sioux City.

Cory Schultz, 38, from Eagle Grove, Iowa, pled guilty on November 23, 2020, to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and two counts of distribution of methamphetamine.

At the plea and sentencing hearings, evidence showed that Schultz and others conspired to distribute more than 20 pounds of mixed methamphetamine from November 2018 through March 2020 in the Wright and Webster County areas. On a number of occasions, Schultz was observed on home security recordings distributing ounces to ¼ pounds of methamphetamine to other co-conspirators.  The residence Schultz used as a hub for his methamphetamine trafficking was located within 1,000 feet of a protected location, namely Greenwood Park, in Eagle Grove, Iowa.  Schultz distributed methamphetamine several times to individuals actively cooperating with law enforcement and agents seized more than ¼ pound of methamphetamine from searches of his garage and vehicle.  Schultz possessed a handgun during some of his drug trafficking activities.

Sentencing was held before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Schultz remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.  Schultz was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment and must serve a 6-year term of supervised release following imprisonment.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, Wright County Sheriff’s Office, Eagle Grove Police Department, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s Laboratory. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-3012. 

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A man who distributed pounds of methamphetamine was sentenced on April 12, 2021, to more than 26 years in federal prison.

Tony Rhen Brown, age 60, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after an October 13, 2020 guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

In a plea agreement, Brown admitted that he received at least a pound of methamphetamine a month over a three-month period in 2019 that he planned to resell.  Brown also admitted that, on February 1, 2019, Cedar Rapids police officers responded to a burglary in progress and located Brown in a car outside the residence that was the subject of the call.  Brown’s DNA was on two firearms law enforcement officers found in the car.  Brown possessed these guns as part of his meth selling operation. 

Brown was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Brown was sentenced to 320 months and 14 days’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Brown is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. The United States Attorney’s Office has prosecuted this case with support from the following Project Guardian partners.  For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/dl?inline.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Emily Nydle and Kyndra Lundquist and investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of by the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, the Marion Police Department, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-CR-30.

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A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced April 10, 2021, in federal court in Sioux City.

James Calvert, 44, from Eagle Grove, Iowa, pled guilty on November 13, 2020, to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

At the plea and sentencing hearings, evidence showed that Calvert and others conspired to distribute more than 500 grams of mixed methamphetamine from January 2019 through March 2020 in the Wright and Webster County areas. Law enforcement caught Calvert removing approximately ¼ pound of methamphetamine from a vehicle.  On at least 5 occasions Calvert was observed on home security recordings obtaining multiple ounces of methamphetamine for further distribution.  The residence that Calvert and others used as a hub for their methamphetamine trafficking was located within 1,000 feet of a protected location, namely Greenwood Park, in Eagle Grove, Iowa.    

Sentencing was held before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Calvert was sentenced to 90 months’ imprisonment and must serve a 4-year term of supervised release following imprisonment.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Calvert remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Wright County Sheriff’s Office, Eagle Grove Police Department, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s Laboratory. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-3012.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.

A Dubuque, Iowa, man’s conviction and life sentence for distributing heroin resulting in a death was upheld April 7, 2021, by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. 

On October 17, 2018, Richard Parker, age 49, from Dubuque, Iowa, was sentenced to concurrent life sentences following his jury conviction on two counts of distributing heroin, one of which resulted in an overdose death. 

The evidence at trial showed that Parker obtained several grams of heroin in Chicago in April 2017.  On Easter Sunday, Parker brought the heroin to a residence on Rhomberg Avenue in Dubuque.  Parker and other individuals at the residence drank alcohol and smoked crack cocaine throughout the day.  Prior to midnight, Parker and an individual identified as E.M. went into a back bedroom.  While inside the room, Parker gave E.M. heroin, which she used.  Shortly after using the heroin, E.M. stopped breathing.  At approximately 12:20 a.m. on April 17, Parker called 911, and emergency responders arrived at the scene.  As emergency responders were attempting to save E.M.’s life, Parker went into another room and hid the remaining approximately four grams of heroin in a chair, which was later found by investigators.  The attempts to resuscitate E.M. were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead shortly after 1:15 a.m.

Parker had numerous felony criminal convictions.  Amongst his prior convictions are four prior felony convictions related to drugs, including three prior convictions for drug distribution.  In April 2017, Parker had recently been released after spending nearly a decade in prison for a burglary conviction.

“Richard Parker committed a deadly crime.  The sentence affirmed by the Court of Appeals ensures he will no longer sell lethal narcotics in our community” said Acting United States Attorney Sean R. Berry. 

The case was investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA; the Cedar Rapids Police Department; the Linn County Sheriff's Office; the Marion Police Department; the Iowa City Police Department; and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 17-CR-1034-LRR.

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A man who carjacked and robbed two men at gunpoint in a single evening was sentenced to fifteen years in federal prison. The sentencing took place April 6, 2021, in federal district court in Sioux City.

Jeremiah Shortenhaus, age 27, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after an October 20, 2020, guilty plea to possessing and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Evidence presented by the United States at Shortenhaus’s detention, change of plea, and sentencing hearings revealed that on July 27, 2019, Shortenhaus robbed a man at gunpoint in Sioux City, Iowa while the man was in his car at an ATM.  Shortenhaus ordered the man out of his vehicle, entered through the passenger side and stole the vehicle along with personal property from inside the vehicle.  Later that same night, in South Sioux City, Nebraska, Shortenhaus robbed a second victim who was sitting in his vehicle waiting for the morning paper.  Shortenhaus pointed a handgun at the victim, ordered him to get out of the car and hand over his wallet and phone.  Shortenhaus then left the parking lot in the victim’s vehicle. Shortenhaus was apprehended by a Sioux City police officer after a high-speed chase that ended when Shortenhaus crashed the second stolen car and fled on foot.

Shortenhaus was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Shortenhaus was sentenced to 180 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Shortenhaus is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/dl?inline.

The case was investigated by the Sioux City, Iowa Police Department and the South Sioux City, Nebraska Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 19-CR‑4068.

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The former Superintendent of the Sioux City Wastewater Treatment Plant, who conspired to cheat on environmental testing at the plant, was sentenced on April 1, 2021, to three months in federal prison.

Jay Earnest Niday, age 63, from Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, received the prison term after a October 6, 2020 guilty plea to one count of conspiracy and one count of knowingly falsifying, tampering with, and rendering inaccurate a monitoring device or method required to be maintained under the Clean Water Act.

The evidence at Niday’s guilty plea and sentencing hearings showed that Niday was employed as the Superintendent of the Sioux City Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP).  The WWTP is a large regional sewage treatment plant for wastewater from industrial, commercial, and residential sources throughout Siouxland, including Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, South Sioux City, Nebraska, North Sioux City, South Dakota, and Dakota Dunes, South Dakota.  The WWTP’s more than 20 industrial users produce a large volume of high-strength wastewater.  Under a Clean Water Act (CWA) permit, the WWTP was required to treat wastewater before discharging it into the Missouri River, which has heavy local recreational use.  Between March 15 and November 15 each year, when public use of the Missouri River was at its highest levels, the WWTP was also required to disinfect its wastewater to remove potentially dangerous human pathogens, including fecal coliform bacteria or E. coli.

The WWTP treated its wastewater with liquid chlorine, which kills bacteria but is potentially toxic to aquatic life.  The WWTP’s permit required the WWTP to periodically test its wastewater not only for the presence of fecal coliform bacteria or E. coli, but also total residual chlorine (TRC) levels, to ensure that the Missouri River was not polluted.      

Beginning no later than 2011, and continuing until at least June 2015, Niday and others knowingly withheld from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) serious problems with the WWTP’s new treatment process, known as “the MLE process.”  Niday and others concealed this fundamental problem with the MLE process from the IDNR.

Niday and others knew that the WWTP did not work properly and could not consistently disinfect the millions of gallons of wastewater that the WWTP was discharging into the Missouri River each day.  In March 2013, an engineering firm prepared a “draft master plan” contemplated under a $1 million contract with the City and provided it to Niday and another person.  The draft master plan discussed the disinfection problems at the WWTP at length and concluded the WWTP’s treatment process could not provide adequate disinfection of the WWTP’s influent given the apparently high toxicity in its significant industrial users’ effluent.  Instead of following the recommendations in the draft master plan, Niday instructed the engineering firm to not finalize the report.

Niday and his coconspirators employed a fraudulent testing procedure that ensured the WWTP would always pass its effluent tests for fecal coliform, E. coli, and TRC.  Specifically, early in the morning on testing days for bacteria, Niday and a subordinate manager, Shift Supervisor Patrick Schwarte, instructed first‑shift operators at the WWTP to increase the rate of liquid chlorine supplied to the wastewater.  After an hour or two passed, and an artificially high level of chlorine was fully mixed into wastewater, they ordered the WWTP’s first-shift operators to use hand-held colorimeters to gauge the levels of chlorine.  Only when the colorimeter “maxed out” would the Superintendent take a sample for fecal coliform or E. coli.  This fraudulent procedure allowed for the chlorine in the wastewater to reach sufficient concentrations to avoid showing elevated levels of fecal coliform or E. coli, which would violate the WWTP’s CWA permits.  The WWTP never reported any exceedances of its CWA permit limits for bacteria or residual chlorine after July 2012.

The liquid chlorine rate was increased from about 2.5 gallons per hour, to somewhere between 70 to 120 gallons per hour, for up to two hours. On non-testing days, WWTP employees maintained the chlorine feed rate at minimal levels, well below the designed feed rate of the WWTP and at a rate clearly insufficient to ensure the WWTP consistently and adequately disinfected its wastewater, as the WWTP’s CWA permits required.  Then, in the afternoon on fecal coliform or E. coli testing days, well after the high amounts of chlorine had dissipated from the WWTP’s chlorine contact basin, and when an insufficiently low rate of liquid chlorine was supplied to the basin, Niday and Schwarte would test again for TRC.  In the afternoon, they were certain the TRC would pass, because only a minimal rate of liquid chlorine was supplied to the chlorine contact basin at that time.  Again, this minimal rate was clearly insufficient to ensure the WWTP consistently and adequately disinfected its wastewater, as required.

Niday was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Niday was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment and fined $6,000.  He must also repay $2,500 in court-appointed attorney fees and serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

“Jay Niday deliberately worked with others to cheat on environmental tests, knowing he was polluting the Missouri River,” said Acting United States Attorney Sean R. Berry.  “His actions not only put recreational users of the river at risk, but also endangered the river’s aquatic life.  Niday’s blatant disregard for the law, the safety of the community, and his reprehensible treatment of a vital waterway was outrageous.”

“By intentionally tampering with the disinfection processes at the Sioux City Wastewater Treatment Plant, Jay Niday placed the community and its natural resources in jeopardy of sustaining significant environmental damage,” said Special Agent in Charge Lance Ehrig of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division for Iowa.  “Today’s sentencing demonstrates that such violations will be vigorously prosecuted.”

“Jay Niday knowingly manipulated data at a wastewater treatment plant that received millions of dollars in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency state revolving funds,” said Daniel Hawthorne, Special Agent in Charge of the EPA Office of Inspector General’s Western Region Field Office.  “This sentencing fulfills the

OIG’s commitment with our law enforcement partners to ensure that falsifying data and undermining the integrity of taxpayer dollars will not be tolerated.”

Niday was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy L. Vavricek and Matthew J. Cole and investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division, the Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-CR-4081-LTS.

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A man who was found by Waterloo Police in possession of a stolen safe, ammunition, and over 1000 pills containing alprazolam, a Schedule IV controlled substance, was sentenced on March 26, 2021, to more than 5 years in federal prison.

Bradley McMahan, age 36, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after an October 13, 2020 guilty plea to being a felon and an unlawful drug user in possession of ammunition.

In a plea agreement, McMahan admitted that on October 24, 2019, Waterloo police officers searched his home and found a stolen gun safe, that contained over 1000 counterfeit pills containing alprazolam and ammunition when McMahan obtained the safe after it had been stolen.

McMahan was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  McMahan was sentenced to 63 months’ imprisonment and must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. pFor more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/dl?inline.

McMahan is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick J. Reinert and investigated by the Waterloo Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is CR 20-2029.

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A felon who escaped from a Waterloo halfway house and was later found with a firearm pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Nicholas Cameron Anderson, age 32, from Dubuque, Iowa, was convicted of one count of escape from custody and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Court records show that Anderson pled guilty in 2016 in the Northern District of Iowa to being a felon in possession of a firearm.  He was sentenced in 2017 to 63 months in federal prison.  At the plea hearing, Anderson admitted that, while he was still a federal inmate serving that sentence, he was housed at a residential re-entry center in Waterloo, Iowa.  In September 2020, Anderson left custody without authorization.  Anderson also admitted that in January 2021, he was found in possession of a pistol in Dubuque, Iowa.  In addition to the federal firearm conviction, Anderson had previously been convicted of three other felonies in state court in Dubuque: theft from a person in 2007; burglary in the third degree in 2007; and escape in 2009.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Anderson remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Anderson faces a possible maximum sentence on the escape charge of 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.  He also faces a possible maximum sentence on the firearm charge of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/dl?inline.

The case was investigated by the Dubuque Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the United States Marshals Service, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 21-CR-1010-CJW.  Anderson’s prior federal case file number was 16-CR-01030-1-LRR.

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A felon who escaped from a Waterloo halfway house and was later found with a firearm pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Nicholas Cameron Anderson, age 32, from Dubuque, Iowa, was convicted of one count of escape from custody and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Court records show that Anderson pled guilty in 2016 in the Northern District of Iowa to being a felon in possession of a firearm.  He was sentenced in 2017 to 63 months in federal prison.  At the plea hearing, Anderson admitted that, while he was still a federal inmate serving that sentence, he was housed at a residential re-entry center in Waterloo, Iowa.  In September 2020, Anderson left custody without authorization.  Anderson also admitted that in January 2021, he was found in possession of a pistol in Dubuque, Iowa.  In addition to the federal firearm conviction, Anderson had previously been convicted of three other felonies in state court in Dubuque: theft from a person in 2007; burglary in the third degree in 2007; and escape in 2009.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Anderson remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Anderson faces a possible maximum sentence on the escape charge of 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.  He also faces a possible maximum sentence on the firearm charge of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/dl?inline.

The case was investigated by the Dubuque Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the United States Marshals Service, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 21-CR-1010-CJW.  Anderson’s prior federal case file number was 16-CR-01030-1-LRR.

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A Waterloo man who left a halfway house in August 2020 for Chicago was sentenced March 25, 2021, to one year in federal prison.

Robert Donzell Luckie, age 22, received the prison term after a December 7, 2020 guilty plea to one count of escape from custody.  At guilty plea and sentencing hearings, Luckie admitted that, in December 2018, he was a sentenced in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa to 27 months’ imprisonment and a three-year term of supervised release after he was convicted of possessing ammunition as a felon.  Luckie was released from federal prison in May 2020 and, after he violated the terms of his supervised release, was ordered to reside in a Waterloo halfway house for 120 days beginning on July 31, 2020.  The very next day, Luckie left the hallway house without permission and fled to Chicago.  Only four days later, on August 5, 2020, Luckie was arrested in a traffic stop by the Chicago Police Department.

In October 2020, Luckie was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for violating the terms of his supervised release by escaping to Chicago.  Later that same month, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging him with one count of escape from custody.

Luckie has three convictions for possessing firearms and ammunition unlawfully.  At his original sentencing in federal court for possessing ammunition as a felon, the sentencing judge found Luckie posed a high risk to reoffend in light of his strong desire to possess firearms and ammunition notwithstanding the fact he is a felon.

Luckie was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Luckie was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, which Judge Williams ordered to run consecutively to Luckie’s 18-month sentence for violating the terms of his supervised release.  He must also serve a new three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Luckie is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tim Vavricek and investigated by the United States Marshal’s Service. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-CR-2052.

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The former general manager of a Sioux Center grain cooperative who directed subordinate managers to blend oats into soybeans was sentenced March 24, 2021, to three months in federal prison.

Kenneth Ehrp, age 76, from Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, received the prison term after a November 2, 2020 guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit a prohibited grain practice.

In a plea agreement, and at guilty plea and sentencing hearings, Ehrp admitted he was the General Manager at a large, federally licensed grain warehouse that is headquartered in Sioux Center but has satellite locations in Iowa and elsewhere.  No later than July 2015, Ehrp agreed with Calvin Diehl and others to add lower value oats to soybeans and sell the mixture as soybeans.  As part of the grain blending scheme, Diehl and other individuals acting at Ehrp’s direction made false statements and executed false certificates to USDA inspectors, layered soybeans on top of oats in both storage bins and trucks to deceive USDA inspectors and customers about the quality and quantity of the grain, and made false entries and adjustments in reports provided to the grain warehouse’s bank.         

In March 2017, one of Ehrp’s subordinate managers instructed a warehouse manager in Worthing, South Dakota, to blend more oats with soybeans.  As a result, approximately 30 truckloads of soybeans were “spiked” with oats.  After the customer happened to discover the badly “slugged” or “spiked” loads, one of the customer’s managers called Diehl and told him to stop blending oats into soybeans.  The manager warned Diehl that “someone can go to jail for this.”  Diehl feigned surprise, apologized, and falsely promised that the practice would not happen in the future.  However, at Ehrp’s direction, Diehl and others continued to blend oats into soybeans (even directing subordinates to remix one of the “slugged” loads) and sell them to the same unwitting customer.  Ehrp himself drove to the location manager’s office in Worthing and ordered him to continue blending oats.  As a result, the Worthing location manager designed a new system for blending oats into soybeans, involving an auger and a conveyer, which sprinkled oats into the semi-trucks’ hoppers and ensured the loads leaving Worthing would remain hidden.

After learning of the conspiracy, the USDA conducted a search of grain bins at the cooperative’s various locations in Iowa and South Dakota.  Of the estimated 87,996 bushels of grain in the bins at these locations, the bins actually contained only 34,354 bushels of soybeans even though all of these bins had been certified as soybeans.

Ehrp was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Ehrp was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment and fined $50,000.  He was ordered to pay $4,089.73 in costs of prosecution, and he also must serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Ehrp was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.  Earlier this year, Diehl was also sentenced to three months’ imprisonment for his role in the grain blending scheme.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy L. Vavricek and Matthew J. Cole and investigated by the United States Department of Agriculture - Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 19-CR-4093.

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A Cedar Rapids man, responsible for possessing over 130 grams of marijuana and two guns near a Cedar Rapids school, was sentenced today to 61 months in prison.

Sinqez Juanya Ray, age 19, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison sentence after an October 21, 2020 guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.   

Information disclosed at sentencing and at his plea hearing showed that in February 2020, Ray was stopped by Cedar Rapids police officers while he was walking near Prairie Ridge Elementary School and Kirkwood Community College.  Ray was wearing a backpack.  Officers immediately observed the magazine of a firearm and marijuana sticking out of the backpack.  Officers searched the backpack and located 139.4 grams of marijuana, a ski mask, digital scales, and two guns, one of which was loaded.  Ray admitted that he planned to sell the marijuana and that he carried the firearms in furtherance of his drug distribution activities.  Ray has two prior weapons convictions, both from 2019.  

Ray was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Ray was sentenced to 61 months’ imprisonment.  He was ordered to make payment of $200 to the special assessment fund.  He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Corkery and investigated by the Cedar Rapids Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/dl?inline.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-CR-31.

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A man who unlawfully stored and transported hazardous waste pled guilty March 19, 2021, in federal court in Sioux City.

Aaron Rochester, 47, from Sioux City, Iowa, was convicted of one count of unlawful storage of hazardous waste and one count of transportation of hazardous waste.

At the plea hearing, Rochester admitted that beginning on or about June 2015 through about January 2017, as owner and operator of Recycletronics, he knowingly and unlawfully stored and transported hazardous waste, namely CRTs (cathode ray tubes) and leaded glass from televisions and computers at various facilities in and around Sioux City, Iowa. 

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Rochester remains free on bond previously set pending sentencing.  Rochester faces a possible maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, a maximum fine of up to $50,000 for each day of the violation, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

“If improperly managed, hazardous waste can pose serious risks to human health and the environment,” said Lance Ehrig, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Iowa. “The defendant’s illegal transportation and storage practices significantly threatened and burdened nearby communities and the environment. Today’s plea demonstrates that those who knowingly violate our nation’s environmental laws will be held responsible for their crimes.”

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 18-4073. 

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A man who was found in possession of ammunition and a few days later in possession of a loaded firearm pled guilty March 18, 2021, in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Mar’yo Doyuan Lindsey, age 24, from Waterloo, Iowa, was convicted of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

In a plea agreement, Lindsey admitted that the Iowa State patrol found him in a car on July 3, 2020, in possession of a large capacity magazine and ammunition.  A few days later, on July 12, 2020, Lindsey was found by Waterloo police officers in possession of a loaded 9mm handgun.  Lindsey had previously been convicted of the following felony offenses: (1) on April 28, 2014, in Black Hawk County, Iowa, he was convicted of possession of a firearm as a felon and carrying weapons on school grounds; and (2) on May 12, 2017, in Black Hawk County, Iowa, he was convicted of intimidation with a dangerous weapon, willful injury causing bodily injury, possession of a firearm as a felon, and going armed with intent.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Lindsey remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Lindsey faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick J. Reinert and was investigated by the Iowa State Patrol, the Waterloo Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.

Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/dl?inline. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-CR-2049.

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A man who illegally returned to the United States after being deported was sentenced today to eight months in federal prison.

Ramon Rodriguez-Perez, age 34, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States and residing in Storm Lake, Iowa, received the prison term after a guilty plea on January 13, 2021, to one count of illegal reentry into the United States.

At the guilty plea, Rodriguez-Perez admitted he had previously been deported from the United States and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government.  Rodriguez-Perez was previously deported in November 2016 and April 2017.  Rodriguez-Perez was convicted in a Texas federal court in April 2017 of illegal entry into the United States, a misdemeanor.  He was also convicted in Iowa in 2014 and 2015 for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OWI).  Rodriguez-Perez most recently came to the attention of immigration agents following an arrest in Winneshiek County, Iowa, on state charges in November 2020.

Rodriguez-Perez was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Rodriguez-Perez was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Rodriguez-Perez is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-CR-2059.

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A man who illegally possessed a gun was sentenced today to more than two years in federal prison.

Rajih Rafee Donley, age 33, from Chicago, Illinois, received the prison term after an October 2, 2020 guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon.

At the plea hearing, Donley admitted he possessed a firearm in 2018 despite having a prior felony conviction.  Donley had previously been convicted of felony offenses involving marijuana and cocaine in Illinois.  In 2019, Donley was convicted in Iowa of willful injury causing serious injury, intimidation with a dangerous weapon, going armed with intent, and two counts of possessing a firearm as a felon.

Donley was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Donley was sentenced to 27 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws.  Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities.  For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/dl?inline

Donley is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Nydle and was investigated by a Federal Task Force composed of the Waterloo Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms assisted by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and the Cedar Falls Police Department. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 19-cr-2035.

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A former Waterloo woman, who was employed as a conservation assistant for the Soil and Water Conservation District was sentenced today; to more than 2 years in federal prison.

Leslie Carey, age 44, from Waterloo, received the prison term after a March 13, 2020 guilty plea to wire fraud. 

In a plea agreement, Carey admitted that from 2010 until 2017, she defrauded the Black Hawk and Bremer County Soil and Water Divisions and took their money through unauthorized withdrawals, debit card and credit card purchases, store purchases, and disbursements.  Defendant admitted she concealed her scheme by transferring funds among accounts, altering financial statements, and submitting false Treasurer reports and minutes. 

Carey was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Carey was sentenced to 33 months’ imprisonment and was ordered to make $430,019.80 in restitution.  Carey must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Carey was released after sentencing and is to surrender to the United States Marshal no later than June 7, 2021.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew J. Cole and investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Department of Agriculture - Office of Inspector General. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-CR-2012.

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A man who possessed a loaded pistol was sentenced March 12, 2021, to more than one year in federal prison.

David Devall, age 43, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after an October 13, 2020, guilty plea to being a felon, drug user and domestic abuse misdemeanant in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  Devall was previously convicted of felony and domestic abuse crimes which made it illegal for him to possess a gun.

Evidence at Devall’s, detention, change of plea, and sentencing hearings revealed that on in the early morning hours of December 17, 2019, officers with the Sioux City, Iowa, police department observed a suspicious vehicle in an area behind a closed business.  An officer in an unmarked vehicle began following the suspicious vehicle, and learned the vehicle was registered to Devall through the license plate.  Shortly thereafter, the vehicle accelerated away and travelled in excess of 65 mph for an unspecified distance. The officers following Devall noted that the vehicle, which had slowed significantly, was making a series of suspicious turns down various streets in Sioux City.  A marked police unit was summoned, which activated its emergency lights and followed the defendant into the drive-through of a closed McDonald’s restaurant, where the vehicle was stopped.  Officers observed the driver, who was later found to be Devall, making movements inside the vehicle, at which time he was ordered to exit the vehicle.  During a search of the car, officers located a black backpack behind the front passenger’s seat, inside of which were two baggies, a jar containing marijuana, a marijuana pipe, a methamphetamine pipe, a scale, methamphetamine, and a loaded 9mm Smith & Wesson handgun. There was a round in the chamber of the gun and 14 rounds in the magazine.

Devall was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Devall was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Devall is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. The United States Attorney’s Office has prosecuted this case with support from our Project Guardian partners. For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/dl?inline.

The case was investigated by the Sioux City, Iowa Police Department and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-4007.

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Raymond Nieman, age 39, Lesandro Jose Alvizo-Allison, age 21, Kelly Davis, age 34, and Erwin Scott, age 25, all from Sioux City, Iowa, received prison terms, ranging from over nine years to 16 years for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, a conspiracy to commit robbery and extortion, a robbery, a conspiracy to commit arson, and possession, use, and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.          

Raymond Nieman, Kelly Davis, and Erwin Scott were each convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of conspiracy to commit arson.  Lesandro Jose Alvizo-Allison was convicted of one count each of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, conspiracy to commit robbery and extortion, robbery, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, conspiracy to commit arson, and possession of a firearm by a felon.  Alvizo-Allison was previously convicted of Forgery, in Iowa, in 2019.  

Evidence presented by the United States revealed from on or about March 18, 2018, until August 8, 2019, Raymond Nieman distributed methamphetamine from his Sioux City home and other places.  On or about August 7, 2019, Nieman attempted to purchase $600.00 worth of methamphetamine from a source of supply in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa.  During that transaction, Nieman was provided what he concluded was bad dope.  Nieman returned to his home and recruited Kelly Davis, Erwin Scott, and Lesandro Alvizo-Allison to assist him in his plan to seek redress against the suspected Sergeant Bluff source of supply.  The three agreed to participate in Nieman’s plan which included robbing the source of supply of his drugs and money, and burning down the home of the source of supply if necessary to get what they wanted.   The four men, along with Jennifer Crook, traveled, in Nieman’s van, to Sam’s Mini Mart, where Nieman and Davis filled a gas can with gasoline.  The group then drove to the supposed home of the source of supply.  As they drove, the group discussed burning down the alleged source of supply’s home if he did not give them money or drugs.  All the men knew there were loaded guns in the van.  Once at the scene, Nieman and Davis each armed themselves with loaded .22 rifles.  Scott donned a wolf mask and picked up a baseball bat.  All four men then walked to the supposed home of the source.  Crook stayed in the van.

Nieman fired shots, including at least one at the house, shouted demands for money, and made threats of violence, including a threat to burn down the house if they did not get money or drugs.  The alleged source of supply and others, who had been in front of the house, retreated inside, and after a brief standoff, Nieman, Davis, Scott, Alvizo-Allison and Crook fled the scene in Nieman’s van.

Davis was sentenced on August 21, 2020, Scott was sentenced on October 9, 2020, Alvizo-Allison was sentenced on December 3, 2020, and Nieman was sentenced on March 11, 2021, in United States District Court in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Davis was sentenced to 180 month’s imprisonment, Scott was sentenced to 132 months’ imprisonment, Alvizo-Allison was sentenced to 117 months’ imprisonment, and Nieman was sentenced to 192 months’ imprisonment.  Davis, Scott, Alvizo-Allison, and Nieman each must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Jennifer Crook, was sentenced to 10 years in State prison after pleading guilty in Woodbury County District Court to charges of intimidation with a dangerous weapon, going armed with intent, assault while participating in a felony, conspiracy, and aggravated assault.

Alvizo-Allison, Scott, Davis and Nieman are each being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until they can be transported to a federal prison.       

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. The United States Attorney’s Office has prosecuted this case with support from its Project Guardian partners.  For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/dl?inline.

The case was investigated by the United States (1) Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; (2) the Sergeant Bluff Police Department; (3) the Sioux City Police Department, (4) the Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; (5) the Woodbury County Sherriff’s Office; and (6) the Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.          

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 19-4082.

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Images attached.

 

A man who possessed a loaded revolver was sentenced March 3, 2021, to more than eight years in federal prison.

Obed Lopez-Castillo, age 29, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 19, 2020, guilty plea to being a felon and domestic abuse misdemeanant in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  Lopez-Castillo was previously convicted of felony and domestic abuse crimes which made it illegal for him to possess a gun.

Evidence at Lopez-Castillo’s detention, change of plea, and sentencing hearings revealed that on January 13, 2020, he was stopped by police for not using his headlights.  The stopping officer identified Lopez-Castillo as the driver of the vehicle, and determined that Lopez-Castillo did not have a valid driver’s license.  During the traffic stop, Lopez-Castillo stated he did not have any weapons on his person.  However, officers located a loaded .22 caliber revolver in his waistband. 

Lopez-Castillo admitted he was a felon, and stated that he knew that it was illegal for him to possess a firearm.  He also stated that he was, or had been, a member of a street gang, was a daily marijuana user and was an occasional methamphetamine user.

Lopez-Castillo was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Lopez-Castillo was sentenced to 102 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Lopez-Castillo is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. The United States Attorney’s Office has prosecuted this case with support from our Project Guardian partners. For more information about Project Guardian, please see /media/1122011/dl?inline.

The case was investigated by the Sioux City, Iowa Police Department and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-4010.

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A man who possessed child pornography was sentenced March 9, 2021, to 13 years in federal prison.

Paul Frances Hicks, age 65, from Spirit Lake, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 22, 2020, guilty plea to one count of possession of child pornography. 

At the plea hearing, Hicks admitted that on September 8, 2016, he possessed visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including a depiction involving a prepubescent minor or a minor who had not attained 12 years of age.  During the execution of a search warrant at Hick’s residence on September 8, 2016, law enforcement seized an HP laptop computer.  The computer was forensically examined and contained at least 146 images of child pornography.

Hicks was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Several former victims were present at the sentencing.  At the sentencing, Hicks admitted to grooming multiple children since the 1970s with gifts, drugs, and alcohol to sexually abuse them.  Hicks tended to prey on families experiencing turmoil and offered to babysit the children in order to gain access to his victims.  Hicks was sentenced to 156 months’ imprisonment.   He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Acting United States Attorney Sean Berry stated “Our community is made safer every time a child predator is sentenced to prison.  We thank our law enforcement partners for their dedication and good work on this case.”

Hicks is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mikala Steenholdt and investigated by The Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations, the Spirit Lake Police Department, and the Dickinson County Attorney’s Office.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 20-CR-4004.

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A Des Moines man and convicted felon who distributed nearly a pound of methamphetamine and possessed a gun was convicted by a jury today after a three-day jury trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Patrick Miller Webb, Jr., also known as “P.J.,” age 32, from Des Moines, Iowa, was convicted of distribution of methamphetamine near a protected location, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.  The verdict was returned this afternoon following about one hour of jury deliberations.

The evidence at trial showed that Webb drove from Des Moines to Dubuque to sell nearly one pound of methamphetamine during a controlled buy for $6,000.  Following the drug sale, officers found a loaded firearm underneath the driver’s seat of Webb’s car, where he had been sitting.  The drug distribution occurred inside a carwash that was located within 1,000 feet of a public playground located at Cleveland Park, Dubuque.  Webb has a previous felony conviction for possession with intent to deliver meth and was also a user of meth and marijuana.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Webb remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Webb faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $40 million fine, and 20 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Alexander Geocaris and Assistant United States Attorney Tony Morfitt and was investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force, comprised of the Dubuque Police Department and the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.  Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 20-CR-1018.

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