ellsworth man pleads guilty to meth charges
Contact: Peter Deegan
A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine in 2010 pled guilty October 25, 2010, in federal court in Sioux City.
Manuel Balderas, 32, from Ellsworth, Iowa, was convicted of one count of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and one count of distributing methamphetamine.
At the plea hearing, Balderas admitted he conspired to distribute at least 50 grams of methamphetamine from May 2010 through July 2010 in the Hamilton and Story County, Iowa, areas. Balderas also admitted he distributed methamphetamine to an undercover law enforcement officer on June 28, June 30, and July 14, 2010.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Balderas remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. On the conspiracy conviction, Balderas 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 4 years up to life of supervised release following any imprisonment. On the distribution conviction, Balderas faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, a special assessment of $100, 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, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Story County Sheriff’s Office, Webster County Sheriff’s Office, Ames Police Department, Ellsworth Police Department, and Fort Dodge Police Department.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 10-3023.
