Man Sentenced to 210 Months in Prison for Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering Charges

DES MOINES, Iowa - On November 17, 2017, Jonathan Escareno Chavezheather Jean Reekr, 28, of Des Moines, Iowa, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger to 210 months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to distribute marijuana, cocaine, and cocaine base and for money laundering, announced United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum. These sentences were ordered to be served concurrently.

On July 12, 2017, Escareno pleaded guilty to these charges, admitting he was engaged in the distribution of marijuana, cocaine, and cocaine base between September of 2015 and September of 2016, and had engaged in laundering drug proceeds in July of 2016. These charges stemmed from a several-month investigation of Escareno Chavez, in which numerous controlled purchases of marijuana and cocaine were made from him. Law enforcement agents also intercepted Escareno Chavez’s wire and electronic communications, which permitted them to identify a broad network of over 20 persons engaged in the distribution of controlled substances in the Des Moines area.

This investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, with significant assistance of numerous other federal, state, and local agencies, including the Des Moines Police Department and Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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Learn more about this release by calling Kevin E. VanderSchel at 515-473-9300, or by emailing him at Kevin.VanderSchel@usdoj.gov (link sends e-mail).