Waterloo Man Who Slipped and Fell on the Ice While Running from the Police Convicted of Trafficking Crack Cocaine

A Waterloo man who ran from police while in possession of crack cocaine and who was involved in a large drug trafficking operation in Waterloo was convicted by a jury on June 27, 2018, after a two-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Willie Junior Carter, age 45, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine and possession of crack cocaine with the intent to distribute it.  The verdicts were returned following about six hours of jury deliberations.

The evidence at trial showed that Carter was intercepted on a wiretap investigation of the distribution of cocaine and crack cocaine in Waterloo during late 2016 and early 2017.  On January 12, 2017, the police stopped Carter as he was driving and he got out of his car and ran from police.  He was apprehended after he slipped and fell on the ice.  Officers found over 12 grams of crack cocaine in his pocket.  Evidence at trial showed that Carter was delivering large quantities of crack cocaine for other drug dealers.  Carter’s criminal history includes four prior convictions for drug trafficking offenses.  

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Carter will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $20,000,000 fine, and 10 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily K. Nydle and was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task

Force, the Waterloo Police Department, the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office, the Cedar Falls Police Department, the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Iowa City Police Department, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office, and the Iowa State Patrol. 

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

The case file number is 17-cr-2045.

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