Oelwein Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Distribute Methamphetamine

David Alan Tafolla, age 54, from Oelwein, Iowa, pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids. 

At the plea hearing, Tafolla admitted that he conspired to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine and 50 grams or more of actual (pure) methamphetamine.  In a plea agreement, Tafolla also acknowledged that he purchased pounds of methamphetamine.  He further admitted that during a search of his home, law enforcement discovered more than 400 grams of methamphetamine, three grams of marijuana, and approximately $36,000 in cash.  In the plea agreement, Tafolla admitted that, in addition to the methamphetamine found in his home, he distributed another 265 grams of methamphetamine.

Sentencing before United States District Court C. J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Tafolla remains in custody of the United States Marshal. Tafolla faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, a $10,000,000 fine, and a term of supervised release of up to life.

The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and was investigated by the Oelwein Police Department, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  

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

The case file number is 21-CR-2044.