CEDAR RAPIDS – Three Iowa men who trafficked methamphetamine were sentenced June 12, 2018, each to more than twenty years in federal prison.
Juan Carlos Martinez, age 28, Manuel Fujarte, age 34, and John Minteer, age 45, all from Marshalltown, Iowa, received the prison terms after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute at least 500 grams of methamphetamine.
At their guilty pleas, Martinez, Fujarte, and Minteer admitted to conspiring to distribute ice methamphetamine, a highly pure, crystalized form of methamphetamine, throughout Northern Iowa. The conspiracy lasted between the fall of 2014 and the fall of 2016. Martinez, Fujarte, and Minteer were all responsible for distributing multiple ounces of ice methamphetamine to a network of drug customers.
Prior to his arrest and while on probation in Marshall County, Martinez obtained a stolen gun and went to a daycare in Pleasant Hill, Iowa, in an attempt to contact his ex-wife and child in violation of a no contact order. Police officers responded to the daycare. Martinez then brandished the gun and refused to drop it. An officer used a Taser on Martinez and he was taken into custody. Martinez was later convicted of assault while displaying a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm as a felon in Polk County District Court.
Martinez, Fujarte, and Minteer were sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade. Martinez was sentenced to 252 months’ imprisonment, Fujarte was sentenced to 262 months’ imprisonment, and Minteer was sentenced to 234 months’ imprisonment. All three must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Martinez, Fujarte, and Minteer are being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until they can be transported to a federal prison.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa C. Williams 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 Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA; the Linn County Sheriff’s Office; the Cedar Rapids Police Department; the Marion Police Department; the Iowa City Police Department; and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; the Mid-Iowa Task Force, comprised of the Marshalltown Police Department, Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, Tama County Sheriff’s Office, Grundy County Sheriff’s Office, Hardin County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Falls Police Department, Eldora Police Department and the Dysart Police Department; and the Tri-County Drug Task Force, comprised of the Waterloo Police Department, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office, Cedar Falls Police Department, LaPorte City Police Department, Hudson Police Department, Evansdale Police Department, University of Northern Iowa Police Department, Waverly Police Department and the Bremer County Sheriff’s Office.
