Iowa Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute Meth

United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a Waterloo, Iowa, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance was sentenced on July 5, 2022, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.

Kurtis Jensen, age 43, was sentenced to nine years and six months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a special assessment of $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.  

Jensen was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury on April 6, 2021.  He pled guilty on April 7, 2022.

Beginning on an unknown date and continuing until April 6, 2021, Jensen reached an agreement or came to an understanding to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance, in the District of South Dakota.  During Jensen’s involvement, he purchased approximately four ounces of methamphetamine from a co-conspirator and transported it through South Dakota.  On May 17, 2020, he was stopped in a vehicle by a South Dakota Highway Patrol Trooper.  The trooper eventually searched the vehicle, found the four ounces of methamphetamine and arrested Jensen. Jensen intended to deliver the methamphetamine in his possession to a co-conspirator in Iowa.  At the time of Jensen’s arrest, he had an extensive criminal history and was on parole.  

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the South Dakota Highway Patrol.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Hodges prosecuted the case.

Jensen was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.