Minnesota Man Pleads Guilty to Meth Conspiracy

A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine pled guilty December 30, 2019, in federal court in Sioux City.

Emmanuel Fuentes, 35, from Madelia, Minnesota, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

At the plea hearing, Fuentes admitted that from July 2019 through August 2019, he was involved in the distribution of more than 150 grams of pure methamphetamine.  In two separate investigative operations, in July and August 2019, law enforcement seized more than ten ounces of methamphetamine from Fuentes.   

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Fuentes remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Fuentes faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least 5 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.   

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

The case file number is 19-4053.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.