SIOUX CITY – A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced August 8, 2019, to four years in federal prison.
Jose Ignacio Leanos, age 29, from Inwood, Iowa, received the prison term after a March 18, 2019, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
At the guilty plea, Leanos admitted that from about 2017 through April 2018, he and others distributed more than 50 pounds of methamphetamine in the Lyon County, Iowa area. In April 2018, Leanos distributed nearly a pound of pure methamphetamine to an individual cooperating with law enforcement, and at the time possessed more than five pounds. Evidence at the sentencing further showed that Leanos and others imported methamphetamine from Mexico to distribute in Iowa.
Leanos was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Leanos was sentenced to 48 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Leanos 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 Shawn S. Wehde and investigated by the Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.
