Cedar Rapids Man Convicted of Methamphetamine Crimes Involving Pounds of the Drug

A man who conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine was convicted by a jury on October 13, 2023, after a four-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Michael Lee Brunson, age 66, who lived in Cedar Rapids, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and one count of distribution of methamphetamine.  The jury also found that $30,540 in United Sates Currency was subject to forfeiture because the property was used or intended to be used in relationship to the drug trafficking conspiracy. 

The evidence at trial showed that Brunson, who also went by the name “Jaxon,” was a methamphetamine dealer in the Cedar Rapids area.  Between April 2022 and September 2022, Brunson conspired with others to distribute methamphetamine in Cedar Rapids and surrounding areas. On June 5, 2022, Brunson was traffic stopped with over 2/3 lb. of methamphetamine in his car. On January 10, 2023, Brunson sold approximately two ounces of methamphetamine to a confidential source during a controlled buy. On January 21, 2023, he was stopped for a break lights violation. He had three bags of methamphetamine in his coat pocket, one bag weighing almost ½ lb., and had two additional bags of methamphetamine in his trunk, each bag weighing just under one pound.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Brunson remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Brunson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and a lifetime of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Nicole L. Nagin and Assistant United States Attorney John H. Lammers and was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Marion Police Department, and the Belle Plaine Police Department.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 23-CR-00005-CJW.

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