Marion Man To Serve Over 12 Years In Prison For Pseudoephedrive Conviction
Contact: Peter Deegan
A man who purchased large quantities of pseudoephedrine from area pharmacies was sentenced on November 17, 2011 to more than 12 years in federal prison.
Richard Armstrong, 51, from Marion, Iowa, received the prison term after a May 13, 2011 guilty plea to possession of pseudoephedrine knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the pseudoephedrine would be used to manufacture methamphetamine.
In his plea agreement, Armstrong admitted that, from 2008 through early 2011, he had purchased over 400 grams of pseudoephedrine from various pharmacies in the Cedar Rapids area. He admitted that he would often purchase boxes of pseudoephedrine from separate pharmacies on the same day in an attempt to avoid the legal limit imposed on the purchase of pseudoephedrine. Armstrong would re-sell the pseudoephedrine to individuals who would manufacture methamphetamine. On at least a few occasions, Armstrong attempted to manufacture methamphetamine himself.
Armstrong was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Armstrong was sentenced to 150 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Armstrong is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Justin Lightfoot and investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA; the Linn County Sheriff's Office; the Cedar Rapids Police Department; the Marion Police Department; the Iowa City Police Department; the Clinton Police Department; the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Sixth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services; and the Iowa National Guard..
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 1:11-CR-00062.
