CEDAR RAPIDS – A woman who drove over five kilograms of ice methamphetamine from Texas to Dubuque was sentenced today to more than six years in federal prison.
Veronica Marie Hinkle, age 34, from Dallas, Texas, received the prison term after a September 2, 2020 guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Information disclosed at the sentencing hearing showed that in about June 2017, Hinkle was recruited by her boyfriend, Jose Roberto Vazquez, to drive one kilogram of ice methamphetamine from Dallas to deliver to Jeremy Kieffer in Dubuque. Over the next six months, Hinkle made multiple similar trips to Dubuque, each time delivering at least a kilogram of ice methamphetamine to Kieffer and his associates. In January 2018, Hinkle helped package nearly a kilogram of 98% pure methamphetamine for her co‑conspirators, but the package was intercepted by law enforcement in Iowa. Kieffer and Vazquez were previously sentenced to 165 months’ imprisonment and 259 months’ imprisonment, respectively, for their roles in the conspiracy.
Hinkle was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Hinkle was sentenced to 81 months’ imprisonment. She must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Hinkle is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until she can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham and Special Assistant United States Attorney Drew Inman.
