Sioux City Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Meth Conspiracy

A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced January 2, 2020, to 15 years in federal prison.

Julio Cesar Salais, 46, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 6, 2019, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distributing methamphetamine within 1000 feet of a protected location.  Salais had already been convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in the Northern District of Iowa District Court, in 1996 and 2002, respectively.

At the guilty plea, Salais admitted that from May 2018 through March 2019, he and others conspired to distribute more than 1.5 kilograms of methamphetamine in the Sioux City, Iowa area.  Salais further admitted that on two occasions he distributed more than 300 grams of pure methamphetamine to an individual cooperating with law enforcement.  These distributions occurred within the protected locations of Irving Elementary School, Sioux City Alternative School and Opportunities School at the Boys and Girls home in Sioux City. 

Salais was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Salais was sentenced to 180 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a 10-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Salais is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and 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 19-4024. 

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