waterloo man pleads guilty to selling methamphetamine
Contact: Peter Deegan
A man who distributed large quantities of methamphetamine throughout the Waterloo area pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
James McClain, 57, from Waterloo, Iowa, was convicted of conspiring to distribute over 500 grams of methamphetamine after having previously been convicted of a prior drug felony offense.
At the plea hearing, McClain admitted that from November 2009 to June 2010 he agreed to sell methamphetamine throughout Waterloo. During this time, McClain bought methamphetamine from Arizona and sold it to others in Waterloo. Over a pound of methamphetamine and a firearm were seized during a search of McClain’s residence in June 2010. In 2001, McClain was convicted in Iowa state court of the felony of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to deliver it.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. McClain remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $8,000,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and 10 years to life of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and was investigated through a cooperative effort of the Waterloo Police Department and the Tri-County Drug Task Force, which is composed of the Waterloo Police Department, Cedar Falls Police Department, Waverly Police Department, Bremer County Sheriff’s Office, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office, LaPorte City Police Department, Evansdale Police Department, Hudson Police Department, and Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 10-2050.
