(Sioux City)– A southwest Minnesota man has been sentenced on federal meth and firearms charges.
47-year-old Raul Flores Marin of Bigelow, Minnesota, was convicted on April 25th of this year following a four-day jury trial on one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute meth and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
Evidence presented at the trial showed that in the early morning of July 19th, 2017, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call regarding a suspicious pickup with Minnesota license plates trespassing on property in a rural area of the county. While traveling toward the residence, law enforcement observed a pickup with Minnesota license plates heading away from the property. Shortly after following the truck, it veered onto the left hand side of a gravel road, nearly going into the ditch. A traffic stop was then conducted on the vehicle. Officers encountered Marin and after searching the truck they located and seized a 9 millimeter handgun along with more than 15 grams of methamphetamine.
Evidence presented at the trial also indicated that Marin was involved in a conspiracy that distributed more than 50 grams of pure meth in and near Osceola county.
Marin was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment along with 5 years of supervised release following the prison term.
The case was investigated by the Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa Great Lakes Drug Task Force and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
