Northern Iowa meth dealer sent to prison

SIOUX CITY – A Northern Iowa man who distributed methamphetamine was sentenced on July 28, 2021, to more than 6 years in federal prison.

Jeremiah Bottjen, age 38, from Primghar, Iowa, received the prison term after a March 4, 2021, guilty plea to one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

In a plea agreement, Bottjen admitted that on September 24, 2020, he was the driver of a vehicle that led a Clay County Sheriff’s Deputy on a high-speed chase where he eventually drove through a stop sign going 60mph while construction workers were present and ultimately crashed his vehicle. Deputies searched Bottjen and his vehicle and found a digital scale with methamphetamine residue and a torch. They also found a grocery sack at the scene of the accident containing a softball-sized amount of methamphetamine. Bottjen later admitted to distributing meth in Iowa from July of 2020 until his arrest.

Bottjen was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Bottjen was sentenced to 78 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.

Bottjen 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 M. Steenholdt and investigated by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa Great Lakes Drug Task Force, and the O’Brien County Sheriff’s Office.