heroin ring arrested
Contact: Peter Deegan
Dwayne Appling, 32; Arthur Scott, 42; Rochester Mitchell, 46; Thelma Moore, 54; Windy Hayes, 52; Arvester Edwards, 55; Edward Sapp, 47, and Lawrence Johnson, 38, all from Waterloo, have been charged with firearms and drug offenses, including: conspiracy to distribute heroin; making a house available for the manufacture, distribution or storage of heroin; distribution of heroin; possession with intent to distribute heroin; use or possession of a firearm during a drug crime; possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, and felon in possession of a firearm. These charges are contained in an Indictment filed on April 19, 2011, in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids.
The Indictment alleges that, from January 2007 through about April 18, 2011, Appling, Scott, Mitchell, Moore, Hayes, Edwards, Sapp and Johnson conspired with each other to distribute heroin in the Waterloo area.
If convicted of the conspiracy, Appling, Scott, Mitchell, Moore, Hayes, Sapp and Johnson face a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $20,000,000 fine and at least 10 years of supervised release following any imprisonment. If convicted, Edwards faces a minimum of 15 years imprisonment and a maximum of up to life, a fine of $10,000,000 and five years to life of supervised release following any imprisonment.
Hayes and Edwards appeared on April 20, 2011, in federal court in Cedar Rapids and were held without bond. Their next appearance for trial is set for June 20, 2011. Moore also appeared on April 20, 2011, in federal court in Cedar Rapids and was released on bond.
Scott, Mitchell, Sapp and Johnson appeared on April 21, 2011, in federal court in Cedar Rapids and were held without bond. Their next appearance was April 26, 2011, for detention hearings, in which they were remanded to the custody of the Marshal Service.
Appling is currently a fugitive.
As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick J. Reinert and was investigated by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Department of Narcotics Enforcement, Cedar Rapids Police Department, Marion Police Department, Linn County Sheriff’s Office, North Central Iowa Narcotics Task Force, Iowa State Patrol, SOG - Special Operations Group in Mason City, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa City Police Department, Tri-County Drug Task Force, Cedar Rapids DEA Task Force, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Internal Revenue Service, and Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Tri-County Drug Task Force 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. The Cedar Rapids Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consists of the DEA; Linn County Sheriff's Office; Cedar Rapids Police Department; Marion Police Department; Iowa City Police Department; Clinton Police Department; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Sixth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services; and Iowa National Guard
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 11-2025.
