SIOUX CITY – A Northern Iowa man conspired to obtain meth from Nevada and California for distribution in the area, and faces at least a decade behind bars.
Carl Thompson, 52, from Larrabee, Iowa, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine after a guilty plea on May 9, 2023, in federal court in Sioux City.
At the plea hearing, Thompson admitted his involvement in a conspiracy that distributed more than three pounds of methamphetamine from December 2019 through May 2022. Thompson admitted assisting at least six others in obtaining the methamphetamine from sources in California and Nevada and transporting it back to Cherokee, Iowa, for further distribution.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Thompson was taken into custody of the United States Marshal and will remain in custody pending sentencing. Thompson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, United States Postal Inspectors, Homeland Security Investigations, Iowa DCI Laboratory, and Cherokee Police Department.
