SIOUX CITY – An Arizona man who led police on a high-speed chase before crashing his car in Iowa and nabbed with over 400 fentanyl pills in his pocket will spend years behind bars.
Benito Curiel, 25, from Phoenix, Arizona, who had recently resided in South Sioux City, Nebraska, was sentenced on October 8, 2024, in federal court in Sioux City, Iowa, to nearly nine years’ imprisonment. Curiel pled guilty on March 20, 2024, to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that on May 17, 2023, Curiel was involved in an attempt to flee law enforcement. Officers observed Curiel unconscious in his vehicle in South Sioux City, Nebraska. Curiel ultimately was awoken and fled the area in his vehicle. The pursuit, which reached speeds of approximately 90 miles per hour, crossed over the Veteran’s Bridge which connects Nebraska and Iowa. At one point stop sticks were deployed, puncturing the two front tires of the vehicle, but Curiel continued to operate the vehicle through residential areas in Sioux City, Iowa, before eventually crashing into a retaining wall. Law enforcement conducted a search of Curiel and found 437 fentanyl pills in his pocket.
Curiel (pictured at top) was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Curiel was sentenced to 105 months’ imprisonment and must also serve a four-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Curiel remains in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Patrick T. Greenwood and Kevin Fletcher, and investigated by Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; Woodbury County Attorney’s Office, and the Iowa State Patrol.