CEDAR RAPIDS – A West Virginia man who came to Iowa and was caught with meth and a firearm after burglarizing a house has been sent to prison for 19 years.
Robert Charles Shelton, age 42, from Parkersburg, West Virginia, received the prison term after a May 2, 2022 guilty plea to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
At the plea and sentencing hearings, evidence showed that Shelton was attempting to burglarize a home in Cedar County, Iowa, when relatives of the homeowner found him. Shelton attempted to flee in his car but became stuck in a field. Shelton abandoned his car and fled from the house on foot before law enforcement officers arrived. The following morning, law enforcement officers received a call of a person walking near the Cedar Valley Bridge. There, an officer found Shelton carrying a bag and a flashlight. In the bag, officers located over a pound and a half of methamphetamine and a BB handgun.
Shelton was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Shelton was sentenced to 235 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. Shelton is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Vander Stoep and investigated by the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa State Patrol, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and Muscatine County Drug Task Force.
