A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced February 23, 2021, to 11 years in federal prison.
Nicholas Thompson, 30, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 24, 2020, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Thompson was previously convicted of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa on November 9, 2010.
Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that between January 2019 and January 2020, Thompson and others conspired to distribute at least 5000 grams of methamphetamine mixture. On two occasions in July and December of 2019, Thompson was stopped by law enforcement and found in possession of about ½ ounce of methamphetamine. Later in December 2019, Thompson was apprehended pursuant to an arrest warrant and found in possession of more than two ounces of methamphetamine. Then in January 2020, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle occupied by Thompson. The driver attempted to flee in the vehicle and ran over stop-sticks deployed by law enforcement. Thompson exited the vehicle, fell down and was caught with a bag of nearly ten ounces of methamphetamine near him. Law enforcement also seized a loaded .38 caliber handgun, with the serial number filed off, approximately 60 feet from where the vehicle ultimately stopped. The bag appeared to have been thrown from the vehicle. Thompson admitted he had been involved in the distribution of sizable quantities of methamphetamine since he had been released from federal prison and intended to distribute some or all of the methamphetamine to other persons.
Thompson was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Thompson was sentenced to 132 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 6-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Thompson 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 Shawn S. Wehde and investigated by 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 20-4036. Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.