CEDAR RAPIDS – An Iowa man who conspired to make meth was convicted by a jury on November 20, 2018, after a two-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Justin Michael Cinkan, age 27, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was convicted of conspiring to manufacture five grams or more of methamphetamine near a school and possessing pseudoephedrine for the purpose of manufacturing methamphetamine. He was found not guilty of a third charge, manufacturing methamphetamine near a school. The verdict was returned following about two hours of jury deliberations.
The evidence at trial showed that between September 2015 and May 2016, Cinkan purchased over 25 grams of pseudoephedrine for the purpose of cooking into meth. On four other occasions during that time, Cinkan was blocked from purchasing pseudoephedrine as a result of the State of Iowa’s electronic pseudoephedrine tracking system. Trial evidence also showed that Cinkan had other people buy pseudoephedrine and other materials for manufacturing methamphetamine. In the few days prior to May 1, 2016, Cinkan and a woman gathered materials to cook meth at a home in Marion. Cinkan and the woman got into an argument, during which Cinkan threatened to blow up the woman by lighting an active one-pot meth lab on fire. After the woman’s brother found an apparent one-pot meth lab in the house and called authorities, the Marion Police Department discovered the one-pot lab and other meth-making materials in the house.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Cinkan remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Cinkan faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $16,250,000 fine, and a lifetime of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Dan Chatham and Kyndra Lundquist and was investigated by the Marion Police Department.
