(NIT photo)
CEDAR RAPIDS — An Iowa man caught storing cocaine and more than six pounds of marijuana in his basement bathroom has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.
Marcus Allen Thomas, 37, of Asbury, received the sentence Monday, August 17, 2026, after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
Thomas (pictured at top) admitted in a plea agreement that he possessed cocaine he intended to distribute.
Investigators searched Thomas’s Asbury home on April 12, 2025. Inside a basement bathroom, authorities discovered approximately 101.56 grams—or about 3.6 ounces—of a substance containing cocaine.
Investigators also seized approximately 6.14 pounds of marijuana from the home.
Thomas pleaded guilty to the federal drug-trafficking charge on February 18, 2026.
Chief U.S. District Judge C.J. Williams sentenced Thomas in Cedar Rapids to 18 months behind bars and ordered him to pay a $5,500 fine.
Thomas must serve three years of supervised release after completing his prison term. There is no parole in the federal prison system.
A public custody record lists Thomas as in custody at the Bremer County Jail in Waverly. The record shows he was booked February 23, 2026, at 5:20 p.m., with his custody status last updated March 24.
Federal authorities said Thomas remains under the custody of the United States Marshals Service while awaiting transportation to a federal prison. Federal detainees may be housed in local jails while awaiting placement.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam J. Vander Stoep. The Dubuque Drug Task Force, Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office, Dubuque Police Department, Asbury Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation.