Marion Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Conspiring to Distribute Cocaine

A man from Marion, Iowa, was sentenced today to 5 years in federal prison for his involvement in selling cocaine.

Kain Cortez, age 25, from Marion, Iowa, received the prison term after a November 3, 2022 guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that Cheyenne Gonzales and Cortez worked together to sell cocaine in the Cedar Rapids area between April and June 2022.  Law enforcement utilized a confidential source to conduct controlled buys of cocaine from Gonzales, and Cortez was present with Gonzales during some of the controlled buys.  On June 1, 2022, investigators observed a meeting between Gonzales, Cortez, and two other individuals outside of Gonzales’s and Cortez’s shared residence.  On that date, Gonzales and Cortez paid approximately $15,000 in cash for half a kilogram of cocaine and approximately 20 pounds of marijuana. 

Cortez was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Cortez was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment.  Cortez must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

On November 14, 2022, Gonzales pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.  Gonzales is scheduled to be sentenced on August 15, 2023.

Cortez 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 Adam J. Vander Stoep and was 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; and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.

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

The case file number is 22-CR-00054.

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