FORT DODGE – A man who was dealing cocaine in Fort Dodge has been sent to prison for 10 years.
Sterling Lee Clark, 26, of Fort Dodge, appeared in Webster County District Court on November 18, 2016, and pled guilty as charged to three counts of Delivery of Cocaine, a class “C” felony. Clark admitted he sold cocaine to a confidential informant working at the direction of law enforcement on three separate occasions in August and September of 2016. At the time of the controlled deliveries, the confidential informant was wearing a wire that allowed law enforcement officers to monitor and record the transactions.
The charges stemmed from an eighteen month investigation conducted by the Webster County Drug Task Force, the FBI Central Iowa Gang Task Force, and the ATF, where the agencies focused on narcotics trafficking and gang-related offenses in the Fort Dodge area. Clark was arrested during the morning hours of September 28, 2016, when Special Emergency Response Teams (SERT) with Fort Dodge and Webster County, the Iowa State Patrol, and the FBI, executed multiple search warrants throughout the City of Fort Dodge.
District Court Judge Thomas Bice sentenced Clark to the maximum term of 10 years in prison on each count of Delivery of Cocaine, stating that, “The sale of cocaine in our community is like spreading cancer. It’s the engine that drives a lot of crime, not only in our community, but nationwide.” Judge Bice ordered that Clark will remain in the custody of the Webster County Sheriff for transport to the Iowa Medical and Classification Center at Oakdale, Iowa, to serve his prison sentence.
The State of Iowa was represented by Webster County Attorney Jennifer Benson. This case was investigated by the Fort Dodge Police Department with the assistance of the Webster County Drug Task Force. The Webster County Drug Task Force is comprised of Agents with the Fort Dodge Police Department, Webster County Sheriffs Office, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Webster County Attorney’s Office. The FBI Central Iowa Gang Task Force is comprised of agents from the Fort Dodge Police Department, Webster County Sheriffs Office, FBI, Des Moines Police Department, Polk County Sheriffs Office, Dallas County Sheriffs Office, and Warren County Sheriffs Office. This investigation is a great example of multiple local, state, and federal agencies working together to keep our communities safe.
