CEDAR RAPIDS – A man who admitted trafficking meth from California to Iowa was sentenced August 26, 2019, to more than 25 years in federal prison.
Thomas Edward Clutts, Jr., age 45, from Riverside, California, received the prison term after a January 4, 2019, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
In a plea agreement, Clutts admitted he arranged for another man to purchase a total of seven pounds of methamphetamine from a California source for distribution in Iowa. Clutts also admitted possessing a gun while in Iowa that he carried in connection with and furtherance of the drug conspiracy. Clutts has a long criminal history, including prior convictions for multiple drug-related crimes and robbery in California
Clutts was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Clutts was sentenced to 323 months’ and 25 days imprisonment. He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Clutts is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Nydle 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 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; and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.
