A Sioux City man who distributed methamphetamine and who possessed a firearm in furtherance of his drug offense, pled guilty on August 1, 2011, in federal court in Sioux City.

Robert Hamel, 23, from Sioux City, was convicted of one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, having been previously convicted of a felony drug offense, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of his drug offense.

Information provided by the United States at Hamel’s plea hearing, revealed despite being convicted of a felony drug offense in state court on October 12, 2010 (i.e. introduction of a controlled substance into a detention facility, in Woodbury County, Iowa case number FECR 056109) Hamel continued to operate as an armed drug-dealer until he was arrested as part of a federal investigation on January 20, 2011.

In a relatively short time, starting in or about June of 2010, and occurring mostly after October 2011, Hamel obtained at least one pound of high-potency methamphetamine from Omaha, and re-distributed it in the Sioux City Metro area,. At least two distributions took place in the parking lot of a Sioux City restaurant.

In furtherance of his drug trafficking crimes, Hamel possessed a Carl Walther .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol with an obliterated serial number. He used this weapon to protect his drugs, drug proceeds, and himself during drug transactions, and to intimidate drug customers. On at least one occasion, at a family restaurant, defendant threatened a man with the pistol in an attempt to collect a drug debt.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Donald E. O’Brien will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Hamel remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. On the drug charge, Hamel faces a possible maximum sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment, a $2,000,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and 6 years of supervised release following any imprisonment. On the gun charge, Hamel faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years to be served consecutively to any sentence imposed on the drug charge, and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of five years.

The case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a cooperative local, state, and federal program aimed at the enhanced prosecution of gun crimes. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Tri-State Drug Task Force; and the Iowa State Patrol. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 11-4024.

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