Eleven Men and Women Charged With Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine

Donita Urban, 46, and Brian Swartz, 48, from Waterloo, Iowa and Scott Mathews, 51, Daniela Castellanos, 28, Rogelio Avalos-Sanchez, 22, Jennifer Mares-Flores, 20, Miguel Mendoza, a/k/a “Loko,” 23, Alvaro Hernandez, 30, Marcos Perez-Trevino, 45, Francis Gasca, 25, and Alejandro Becerra, a/k/a Juan Flores, 27, from Marshalltown, Iowa, have been charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.­  The charges are contained in an Indictment unsealed on September 1, 2015 in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids.

The Indictment alleges that, between the Spring of 2013 and continuing to the present, all individuals conspired to distribute methamphetamine.

If convicted, Urban, Swartz, Hernandez, and Perez-Trevino face a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, $100 in special assessments, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.­  Mathews, Castellanos, Avalos-Sanchez, Mares-Flores, Mendoza, Gasca, and Becerra face a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, $100 in special assessments, and at least three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

Hernandez appeared on September 1, 2015, in federal court in Cedar Rapids and was held without bond.  Urban, Swartz, Mares-Flores, and Avalos-Sanchez appeared on September 3, 2015, and were held without bond pending a detention hearing set for September 8, 2015.  Trial in this matter is set for November 2, 2015.

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 Lisa C. Williams as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Tri-County Drug Task Force, comprised of the Waterloo Police Department, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office, Cedar Falls Police Department, LaPorte City Police Department, Hudson Police Department, Evansdale Police Department, University of Northern Iowa Police Department, Waverly Police Department and the Bremer County Sheriff’s Office; the Mid-Iowa Task Force, comprised of the Marshalltown Police Department, Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, Tama County Sheriff’s Office, Grundy County Sheriff’s Office, Hardin County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Falls Police Department, Eldora Police Department and the Dysart Police Department; and 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; and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is CR 15-2037.

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