Roland Man Sentenced to Over 22 Years in Prison for His Role in Importing Methamphetamine into Iowa from Mexico

DOJ Press

A Roland, Iowa, man who was involved in the importation and distribution of nearly ten kilograms of methamphetamine was sentenced today to over 22 years in federal prison. 

Bobbey Dean Robey, age 62, from Roland, Iowa, received the prison sentence after a May 14, 2021 guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. 

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that in 2018, law enforcement began investigating a large-scale methamphetamine operation operating out of Mexico.  The head of the organization, Mario Hernandez, was based out of Mexico and worked with others, including Robey, to transport kilogram quantities of methamphetamine into Iowa.  Investigators conducted a wiretap investigation and intercepted thousands of calls and messages between Hernandez and other members of the drug-distribution organization.  Robey was intercepted discussing methamphetamine shipments with Hernandez. 

In July 2020, investigators conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle just outside of Des Moines.  The vehicle had travelled from Texas.  In the vehicle, officers located nearly 5,000 grams of pure methamphetamine.  The occupants of the vehicle admitted that the load of methamphetamine was intended for Robey.  Robey had intended to redistribute the methamphetamine to people in Iowa. 


Robey has a lengthy criminal history, including 14 adult criminal convictions.  Eight of his adult criminal convictions are felonies.  Robey was twice convicted of assaulting one other person, including a police officer.

Robey was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Robey was sentenced to 270 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term and pay a $100 special assessment fee.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Corkery.  This case was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Mid-Iowa Task Force (Marshall County Sheriff’s Office, Tama County Sheriff’s Office, Marshalltown Police Department), Iowa National Guard and Counter Drug Program, Tri-County Task Force (Cedar Falls Police Department, Waterloo Police Department, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl

The case file number is 20-CR-2034.

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