Woodbury County Felon Involved With Drugs And Guns Gets Sentence Of Eleven Years In Federal Prison

A Sioux City man was sentenced January 13, 2015, to more than eleven years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, and for illegal possession of a firearm.

Nicholas Howard Juarez, age 31, from Sioux City, received his prison term after a May 21, 2014, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and to being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Juarez was convicted in 2004 in Dakota County Nebraska District Court for a felony offense, which precluded him from lawfully possessing firearms. 

Information provided by the United States at the sentencing and change of plea hearing showed Juarez’s involvement during the Spring of 2013 through January 14, 2014 in a conspiracy that distributed at least 35 grams of actual (pure) methamphetamine.  Juarez possessed multiple pounds of marijuana and methamphetamine as well as several firearms.   On January 18, 2014, officers arrested Juarez, and during the arrest, seized three small baggies of methamphetamine from the defendant’s shirt pocket.  That same day, a search warrant was executed at the defendant’s residence, and a stolen shotgun and several other firearms and ammunition were seized. 

Juarez was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett.  Juarez was sentenced to 135 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $200 was imposed.  He must also serve a 4-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Juarez 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 Jack Lammers and investigated by the Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, which consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa Police Department; Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement; 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 the Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.. 

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 14-4008.