Waterloo Man Sentenced for Methamphetamine and Firearm Charges

A Waterloo man who conspired to distribute large quantities of methamphetamine and was a felon in possession of a firearm was sentenced last Thursday to more than 23 years in federal prison.

Derrick Plunkett, 37, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 26, 2015, guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine with a prior felony drug conviction and one count of possession of a firearm with three or more felony convictions for violent or serious drug crimes.

At the plea hearing, Plunkett admitted that he worked with others to distribute well more than 500 grams of methamphetamine in the Waterloo, Iowa, area between the spring of 2013 and May 2015.  Plunkett admitted that on April 7, 2015, he was in possession of a Glock firearm and had previously been convicted of at least three felony offenses, specifically: Robbery-Second Degree and two separate cases of possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine.

Plunkett was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade.  Plunkett was sentenced to 282 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $200 was imposed, and he must also serve a 10-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Plunkett 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 Attorneys Patrick J. Reinert and Lisa Williams, and was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Tri-County Drug Task Force, comprised of the Waterloo Police Department, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office, Cedar Falls Police Department, LaPorte City Police Department, Hudson Police Department, Evansdale Police Department, University of Northern Iowa Police Department, Waverly Police Department and the Bremer County Sheriff’s Office; the Mid-Iowa Task Force, comprised of the Marshalltown Police Department, Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, Tama County Sheriff’s Office, Grundy County Sheriff’s Office, Hardin County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Falls Police Department, Eldora Police Department and the Dysart Police Department; and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA; the Linn County Sheriff's Office; the Cedar Rapids Police Department; the Marion Police Department; the Iowa City Police Department; and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement. 

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

The case file number is CR 15-2035.

Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.