fort dodge man pleads guilty to meth manufacturing conspiracy
Contact: Peter Deegan
A man who conspired to manufacture methamphetamine pled guilty June 25, 2010, in federal court in Sioux City.
Ryan Wisthoff, 35, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine and two counts of manufacture and attempt to manufacture methamphetamine.
At the plea hearing, Wisthoff admitted his involvement in a methamphetamine manufacturing conspiracy in Fort Dodge from 2006 through December 2009. Wisthoff admitted to manufacturing and distributing at least 50 grams of pure methamphetamine. During searches of Wisthoff’s residence on November 11, 2009, and July 26, 2009, officers seized a number of items associated with the manufacture of methamphetamine, including: chemicals, glass jars with white residue, Coleman fuel, peeled lithium battery casings, boxes of pseudoephedrine pills, and plastic baggies.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Wisthoff remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. On the conspiracy conviction, Wisthoff faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $4,000,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and 5 years up to life of supervised release following any imprisonment. On the other two convictions, Wisthoff faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, $200 in special assessments, and 3 years up to life of supervised release.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Fort Dodge Police Department, and Webster County Sheriff’s Office.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 10-3009.
