Man pleads guilty to north central iowa meth conspiracy
Contact: Peter Deegan
A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine in north central Iowa pled guilty June 17, 2010, in federal court in Sioux City.
Jose Bobadilla-Garcia, 30, from Belmond, Iowa, was convicted of one count of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
At the plea hearing, Bobadilla-Garcia admitted he was involved in a conspiracy from about August 2009 through about March 2010 that distributed more than 500 grams of methamphetamine in the Wright County, Iowa, area. On March 4, 2010, more than 673 grams of methamphetamine, more than $15,000 in cash, and a .22 caliber Ruger revolver were seized during a search of Bobadilla-Garcia’s residence.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Bobadilla-Garcia remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. On the conspiracy conviction, Bobadilla-Garcia faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $4,000,000 fine, a special assessment of $100, and at least 5 years up to life of supervised release following any imprisonment. On the possession with intent to distribute conviction, Bobadilla-Garcia faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment, a $2,000,000 fine, a special assessment of $100, and at least 4 years up to life of supervised release.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, North Central Iowa Drug Task Force, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Fort Dodge Police Department, Mason City Police Department, Webster County Sheriff’s Office, Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Wright County Sheriff’s Office, and Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 10-3008.
