A woman who had prior drug convictions and then conspired to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced June 21, 2011, to 20 years in federal prison.
Cynthia Koons, 50, from Estherville, Iowa, received the prison term after a March 18, 2011, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Koons was previously convicted of two felony drug offenses: possession of marijuana with intent to deliver in September 2001 and failure to affix a drug tax stamp in August 1998.
At the guilty plea, Koons admitted she conspired to distribute more than six pounds of methamphetamine from 2002 through April 2010 in the Emmet, Dickinson, and Cherokee County areas.
Koons was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett. Koons was sentenced to 240 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. She must also serve a 10-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Koons is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until she can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Iowa State Patrol, Cherokee Police Department, Denison Police Department, Estherville Police Department, Spirit Lake Police Department, Emmet County Sheriff’s Office, Palo Alto County Sheriff’s Office, Dickenson County Sheriff’s Office, Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, and Clay County Sheriff’s Office.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR10-3048.|
