Elderly Northern Iowa man sent to prison for meth conspiracy

SIOUX CITY – An Elderly Northern Iowa man has been sent to prison for a meth conspiracy.

Thomas Hendrickson, 72, from Lehigh, Iowa, pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 7 years in federal prison on December 4, 2020.

Evidence showed that from January 2019 through October 2019, Hendrickson was involved in a conspiracy that distributed over five pounds of methamphetamine. On October 10, 2019, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle Hendrickson was operating. After a K-9 alerted to the presence of controlled substances, law enforcement searched the vehicle and located approximately one pound of methamphetamine in a plastic baggie. On this same date, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Hendrickson’s residence in Lehigh and seized about one ounce of methamphetamine, approximately one pound of marijuana, and roughly $15,000 in U.S. currency. Hendrickson previously served more than 14 years in prison for a federal firearm offense after being classified as an Armed Career Criminal.

Hendrickson was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Hendrickson was sentenced to 84 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. Hendrickson is being held in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and investigated by Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Iowa State Patrol, Tri-County Drug Taskforce, Webster County Sheriff’s Office, North Central Iowa Drug Taskforce, Central Iowa Drug Taskforce, and the Iowa DCI.