Woodbury County Man Pleads Guilty to Meth Conspiracy

A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine pled guilty October 12, 2021, in federal court in Sioux City.

Matthew Sandoval, 28, from Sioux City, Iowa, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. At the plea hearing, Sandoval admitted that between on or about 2016 and continuing to on or about June 2021, he and others conspired to distribute over 500 grams of methamphetamine.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Sandoval remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Sandoval faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was 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 21-4059.

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