(Sioux City)– Federal prosecutors announced today (Thurs.) 21 defendants have been convicted and sentenced to charges associated with a large network of crystal methamphetamine traffickers in northwest Iowa.
Of the 21, officials say seven were in the country illegally and are being turned over Immigation and Customs Enforcement for deportation after serving their prison terms.
Authorities say the investigation into the operation started back in February of 2007 and continued for some two and-a-half years. It involved the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and Spencer Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Tri-State Task Force based in Sioux City.
It focused on meth distributors in Storm Lake, Spencer and Dow City. Authorities say they received methamphetamine from a Mexican source in Omaha and were responsible for the majority of the meth being sold on the streets in Spencer, the Iowa Great Lakes and Storm Lake areas.
As part of the investigation, officers seized more than six pounds of crystal meth with a street value of more than 275-thousand dollars. They also seized more than 25-thousand dollars in cash, five vehicles valued at more than 39-thousand dollars and four firearms.
Of the 21 defendants sentenced in the case, four are from Storm Lake, six are from Spencer, and one each is from Omaha, Dow City, Cleghorn and St. Cloud, Minnesota.
Seven other defendants in the case were sentenced in District Courts in Buena Vista, Clay and Dickinson counties.
Two others weren’t prosecuted but were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials for deportation.
Those sentenced in U.S. District Court include:
Moises Gonzalez, age 29 of Storm Lake-260 months imprisonment
Amie Aguirre, age 24 of Storm Lake-126 months’ imprisonment
Jose Rodriguez-Ballina, age 23 of Omaha-84 months’ imprisonment
Wesley Burrow, age 25, of Spencer-180 months’ imprisonment
Orlando Escobar-Quintanilla, age 28, of Spencer-168 months’ imprisonment
Joel Agguirre, age 29, of Storm Lake-235 months’ imprisonment
Eric Sandoval, age 28 of Storm Lake-120 months’ imprisonment
Leandro Cervantes-Murillo, age 21 of Spencer-79 months’ imprisonment
Elio Marin-Torres, age 30, of Spencer-120 months’ imprisonment
Eder Noe Sosa-Jimenez, age 26, of Spencer-180 months’ imprisonment
Robby Krueger, age 43, of Dow City-168 months’ imprisonment
Joseph Volberding, age 37, of St. Cloud, Minnesota-151 months’ imprisonment
Rolando Maza-Quiroz, age 39 of Spencer-129 months’ imprisonment
Todd Fundermann, age 27, of Cleghorn-39 months’ imprisonment.
