fort dodge man pleads guilty to meth conspiracy
Contact: Peter Deegan
A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine in Fort Dodge pled guilty October 20, 2010, in federal court in Sioux City.
Alfredo Sandoval-Ramirez, 34, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, was convicted of one count of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and three counts of distributing methamphetamine.
At the plea hearing, Sandoval-Ramirez admitted he conspired to distribute more than 50 grams of pure methamphetamine in the Fort Dodge area from December 2009 through April 2010. Sandoval-Ramirez also admitted he distributed methamphetamine on three occasions in March and April 2010 to an individual cooperating with law enforcement.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Sandoval-Ramirez remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. On the conspiracy conviction, Sandoval-Ramirez 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 5 years up to life of supervised release following any imprisonment. On two of the distribution convictions, Sandoval-Ramirez faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment, a $2,000,000 file, $200 in special assessments, and 4 years up to life of supervised release following any imprisonment. On the final distribution conviction, Sandoval-Ramirez faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, a special assessment of $100, and a term of supervised release of 3 years up to life.
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 10-3016.
