Sioux City Man Pleads Guilty to Meth Conspiracy

A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine pled guilty December 17, 2018, in federal court in Sioux City.

Melvin John Begay, 36, from Sioux City, Iowa, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

At the plea hearing, Begay admitted that from November 2015 through March 2016, he was involved in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in and around Sioux City. Begay also admitted to distributing methamphetamine on two occasions in January 2016 to individuals cooperating with law enforcement. 

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Begay remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Begay faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, and at least 4 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mikala M. Steenholdt 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 18-4017.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.