CEDAR RAPIDS – A Northern Iowa man who conspired with others to distribute ice methamphetamine was convicted by a jury on August 22, 2018, after a three-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Robert Lewis, age 43, from Janesville, Iowa, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute at least 500 grams of a mixture of methamphetamine and 50 grams of actual methamphetamine. The verdict was returned August 22, 2018, following about three hours of jury deliberations.
The evidence at trial showed that in the summer of 2013, Lewis began working with others to distribute ice methamphetamine throughout the Waterloo area. Lewis and his associates obtained methamphetamine from an out-of-state source of supply. The source shipped the methamphetamine via FedEx concealed in car part boxes. Each shipment contained multiple pounds of methamphetamine. Lewis and others then broke the methamphetamine down into smaller quantities for sale once it arrived in Iowa. Lewis also used his daughter to register a vehicle for the head of the drug organization and allowed other members of the conspiracy access to his home, referred to at trial as the “clubhouse,” for the purpose of repackaging and distributing methamphetamine. Lewis left Iowa in the fall of 2013, but continued to receive methamphetamine from his associates. For example, in January 2014, one person attempted to send Lewis methamphetamine hidden in a Hamburger Skillet prepared meal box. FedEx employees flagged the package as suspicious and investigators ultimately seized a quarter ounce of methamphetamine from inside the box.
Sentencing before Chief United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Lewis remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Lewis faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa C. Williams 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force (Waterloo Police Department; Cedar Falls Police Department; Waverly Police Department; Bremer County Sheriff’s Office; Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office; LaPorte City Police Department; Evansdale Police Department; Hudson Police Department).
They caught him before he could release skeletor man. lol