SIOUX CITY – An illegal alien caught in Northern Iowa has been sent to prison on immigration and meth charges.
Emmanuel Nieto-Trenado, age 33 from Mexico and living in Milford, Iowa, illegally in the United States and possessed with intent to distribute methamphetamine, was sentenced on January 28, 2021, to 10 years in federal prison. He received the prison term after a September 17, 2020, guilty plea to one count of illegal re-entry and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
In a plea agreement, Nieto-Trenado admitted that he is a citizen of Mexico and had been previously removed from the United States to Mexico in 2013. On October 18, 2019, while law enforcement was executing the arrest warrant for defendant, officers located and ultimately seized over 11 ounces of methamphetamine along with drug paraphernalia, ammunition, and two firearms.
Nieto-Trenado was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Nieto-Trenado was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Nieto-Trenado 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 Mikala Steenholdt and investigated by the Milford Police Department; the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Enforcement and Removal Office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau.
