CEDAR RAPIDS – A Northern Iowa woman who trafficked methamphetamine was sentenced on September 17, 2024, to 180 months in federal prison for her involvement in a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of “ice” methamphetamine.
Courtney Annette Kappel, age 43, from Iowa Falls, Iowa, received the prison term after an April 12, 2024 guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
Starting in August or September of 2022, Kappel received large quantities of methamphetamine from her drug supplier, Victoria Kay Oestereich. Kappel received at least 17 pounds of methamphetamine from Oestereich for redistribution. In January 2024, when law enforcement searched Kappel’s residence in Iowa Falls, they located over 1,000 grams of methamphetamine.
Kappel (pictured at top) was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Kappel was sentenced to 180 months’ imprisonment. She must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Kappel is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until she can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicole L. Nagin, and it was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Tri‑County Drug Enforcement Task Force, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Mid-Iowa Drug Task Force, the Black Hawk County Sherriff’s Office, and the Iowa Falls Police Department.