Sioux City Man Pleads Guilty to Meth Possession with Intent to Distribute

A man who possessed with intent to distribute methamphetamine pled guilty May 15, 2023, in federal court in Sioux City.

Thomas Powell, 36, from Sioux City, Iowa, was convicted of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine after having been previously convicted of a federal felony drug offense in 2010.

At the plea hearing, Powell admitted that on November 13, 2022, while in Sac County, Iowa, he was found with over 90 grams of pure methamphetamine and that he planned to distribute some or all of it to other persons.  

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Powell remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Powell faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $20,000,000 fine, and at least 10 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Sac County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa DCI Laboratory, and 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 23-4002.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.