West Des Moines Iowa Criminal Defense Law Blog

A Waterloo father and his two sons were charged for conspiring to distribute cocaine. The three were convicted by a jury in federal court following a trial that lasted for five days.

The 64-year-old man and his sons were convicted of conspiracy to distribute crack and powder cocaine. The father was also convicted of the distribution of crack cocaine. The 43-year-old son was convicted of distributing crack cocaine and of distributing powder cocaine while the 34-year-old son was convicted of possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute.

Iowa police have reported that marijuana with a street value of $56,000 was discovered during the search of a Hancock County residence on April 19. Media reports indicate that a 28-year-old man was taken into custody at the scene in connection with seized drugs. He has been charged with both misdemeanor and felony drug possession and faces a sentencing enhancement because the narcotics were discovered with 1,000 feet of a public park. He was released from the Winnebago County Jail on April 19 after paying a $10,000 bond.

The search warrant was executed by officers from the Forest City Police Department at a residence on Grove Avenue in Garner. The FCPD investigation was assisted by the Iowa State Patrol. Police claim that the man who answered the door told them that he has about 10 pounds of marijuana and marijuana dabs in the house. Dabs are a type of highly potent marijuana extract.

The Iowa State Patrol took a 21-year-old man into custody on April 5 following a high-speed chase. While the man was charged with a number of offenses in Iowa, he is also wanted in Florida on a second-degree murder charge. He is awaiting extradition to Florida.

Court records and a press release say that a trooper initially tried to stop the man as he was traveling southbound on U.S. Highway 218 near Nashua in a 2003 Chevrolet Impala. In the chase that followed, the man reportedly reached speeds of more than 100 mph. The chase carried on into Bremer County where a deputy attempted to stop the man using stop sticks. This was unsuccessful, and officials claim that the man tried to run over the deputy although he was unable to. The chase continued into Black Hawk County where the man was eventually detained while on foot.

Three men are facing charges after a police search in an apartment in Iowa City led to the seizure of approximately pounds of marijuana and thousands of dollars. Local police obtained a state narcotics warrant and searched a Johnson St. home on Feb. 27. There, they claim that they discovered $25,000 in cash as well as more than two pounds of marijuana. Police also say that they found pills in the apartment, including Xanax, methadone and Adderall. During the search, two men in the apartment were arrested.

The 21-year-old and 20-year-old men were accused of possession of a controlled substance, failure to affix a drug stamp and a controlled substance violation, all of which are Class D felonies. The 21-year-old allegedly had 1.84 pounds of marijuana in his bedroom as well as $23,325, packaging materials and smoking devices. In the 20-year-old's room, police say they found 167.5 grams of marijuana and $1,115 in cash. They also say they searched the men's phones and found descriptions of selling drugs. The 21-year-old could face 15 years in prison and the 20-year-old a 12-year prison sentence if convicted.