Five Mason City residents charged with distributing meth

CEDAR RAPIDS – Corey Gardner, age 32, Amanda Eldridge, age 33, Stephen Collins, age 26, Chad Seger, age 35, and Slade Smith, age 39, all from Mason City, Iowa, have each been charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Gardner and Seger have also been charged with distribution of methamphetamine, Eldridge and Collins have also been charged with possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and Collins has been charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The charges are contained in an Indictment unsealed on February 1, 2013, in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The Indictment alleges that, on a date sometime before but no later than November 20, 2011, and continuing through the present, the defendants were involved in conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, distributing methamphetamine, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking crime.

Gardner was previously convicted of a felony drug offense in April 2006 in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa.

If convicted on all charges, Eldridge, Collins, Seger, and Smith, face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, $100-$400 in special assessments, and 5 years up to life of supervised release following any imprisonment,­ and Gardner faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, and a possible sentence of life imprisonment, a $20,000,000 fine, $500 in special assessments, and 10 years up to life of supervised release following any imprisonment. Collins also faces a 5 year consecutive sentence on the gun count, a fine of up to $250,000, and 5 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

Gardner, Eldridge, Collins, Seger, and Smith appeared on February 1, 2013 in federal court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Eldridge was held without bond and Gardner, Collins, Seger, and Smith were held without bond pending a detention hearing on February 6, 2013.

As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jack Lammers and was investigated by the North Central Iowa Narcotics Task Force, Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office, Mason City Police Department, and Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.