CEDAR RAPIDS – A Marshalltown man, who was involved in the importation and distribution of thousands of kilograms of methamphetamine, was sentenced today, April 29, 2022, to over 20 years in federal prison.
Genaro Aguilar Lemus, age 23, from Marshalltown, Iowa, received the prison sentence after a May 6, 2021, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that, beginning in 2017, law enforcement investigated a large-scale methamphetamine trafficking organization operating out of Mexico. The head of the organization, Mario Hernandez, was based in Mexico and worked with others, including Aguilar Lemus, to transport kilogram quantities of methamphetamine into Iowa. Aguilar Lemus was intercepted on a wiretap investigation speaking with Mario Hernandez. He was also intercepted on the wiretap investigation speaking with Travis Werkmeister, a high-ranking member of the organization based out of Waterloo, Iowa. Aguilar Lemus arranged shipments of methamphetamine into Iowa and the transport of currency back to Mexico. Aguilar Lemus would receive pound to kilogram quantities of methamphetamine at a time and would redistribute to others involved in the conspiracy, who would in turn sell to others.
Aguilar Lemus was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Aguilar Lemus was sentenced to 243 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term and pay a $100 special assessment fee. There is no parole in the federal system.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Corkery. This case was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Mid-Iowa Task Force (Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, Tama County Sheriff’s Office, Marshalltown Police Department), Iowa National Guard and Counter Drug Program, Tri-County Task Force (Cedar Falls Police Department, Waterloo Police Department, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
