Sioux City Man Sentenced To Prison For Possession Of Meth

A man who fled from law enforcement, damaging crops and a fence, was sentenced May 17, 2018, to six years in federal prison.

Daniel Lester Frye, 45, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after a January 17, 2018, guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  Frye was previously convicted of possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine in the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County in 1996.

Evidence at the sentencing hearing showed that on August 11, 2017, law enforcement was dispatched to the Winnavegas Inn after receiving a report from hotel staff of found property in a hotel room.  Hotel staff informed law enforcement that the cleaning staff found drugs and drug-related items the morning after Frye, who had rented the room, checked out.  While securing the evidence, which included four individual baggies of methamphetamine, one individual baggie of cocaine, and drug paraphernalia, Frye walked into the hotel.  After seeing law enforcement, Frye took off running and got in his car and left.  Law enforcement pursued Frye’s car in a high speed chase.  Frye did not stop at a stop sign and drove through two fields of crops.  Frye admitted to possessing over five grams of actual (pure) methamphetamine with the intent to distribute some or all of it to another person or persons. 

Frye was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett.  Frye was sentenced to 72 months’ imprisonment.  He was ordered to make $2,300 in restitution to the victims of the crops he damaged while fleeing from law enforcement.  He must also serve an 8-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Frye is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Mikala M. Steenholdt 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 17-4073.

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