Category: Legal Issues

Source: United States Attorneys General 7

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – Ryan Daniel Linehan, age 42, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced on January 31, 2023, to 100 months in prison following his plea of guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. After he is released from prison, Linehan will serve three years of supervised release.

On February 5, 2021, law enforcement encountered Linehan at work, operating an excavator. When notified officers were there to arrest him on an outstanding warrant, Linehan barricaded himself in the excavator, in possession of a loaded Ruger handgun, which led to a nine-hour standoff. In Linehan’s truck, officers also located a loaded Hi-Point handgun.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Council Bluffs Police Department, United States Marshal Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In May 2021, the Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Source: United States Attorneys General 7

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – Garret Allen Horgdal, age 39, of Henderson, was sentenced on Tuesday, January 31, 2023, to 84 months in prison following his plea of guilty to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. After he is released from prison, Horgdal will serve three years of supervised release.

On March 8, 2022, a Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputy stopped Horgdal and found him in possession of three loaded firearms. Horgdal was prohibited from possessing any firearms because of his prior felony convictions and his drug use.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department, Mills County Sheriff’s Department, and Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement investigated the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In May 2021, the Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Source: United States Attorneys General 7

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – Christopher Logan Meadows, age 24, of Council Bluffs, was sentenced on January 31, 2023, to 37 months in prison following his plea of guilty to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. After he is released from prison, Meadows will serve three years of supervised release.

On January 17, 2022, law enforcement was called to Harrah’s Casino and encountered Meadows. Meadows ran from officers and threw something on the roof of a car wash, which was later located and identified as a Glock .45 caliber handgun. Meadows was prohibited from possessing firearms because he is a felon and was a drug user.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Council Bluffs Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In May 2021, the Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Source: United States Attorneys General 7

Davenport, IA – Jacob John Preuschl, age 28, of North Liberty, was sentenced on January 25, 2023, to 300 months in prison for production of child pornography and transfer of obscene material to minors. Preuschol was also ordered to pay a $10,000 special assessment under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act and a $3,000 special assessment under the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act. Following his prison term, Preuschl was ordered to serve seven years of supervised release.

Law enforcement identified Preuschl after the parent of a minor victim called the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) tipline after finding sexually explicit content between her daughter and an adult male on her cell phone. NCMEC referred the case to law enforcement in Nashville who identified Preuschl and referred the case to Iowa law enforcement. Preuschl met the victim on Snapchat and communicated with the victim for approximately four months and requested nude images and videos. Preuschl also sent the victim images of his genitals. After seizing his cell phone, law enforcement discovered that Preuschl had communicated with several other minor females on Snapchat and had acquired child pornography via the Telegram application.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Joint Forensic Analysis Cyber Team and the Nashville, Tennessee Police Department investigated the case.

This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Childhood” initiative, which was started in 2006 as a nationwide effort to combine law enforcement investigations and prosecutions, community action, and public awareness in order to reduce the incidence of sexual exploitation of children. Any persons having knowledge of a child being sexually abused are encouraged to call the Iowa Sexual Abuse Hotline at 1-800-284-7821.

Source: United States Attorneys General 7

A California man was sentenced November 17, 2022, to 10 years in federal prison.  Wesley Wood, age 43, from San Marcos, California, received the prison term after a May 26, 2022, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

In a plea agreement, Wood admitted he conspired to distribute multiple pounds of methamphetamine to Sheldon, Iowa in the U.S. Postal Service.

Wood was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Wood was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a 4-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Wood 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 Ron Timmons and investigated by United States Postal Inspection Service and 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; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.

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

The case file number is 21-4056.

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Source: United States Attorneys General 7

A Mason City, Iowa man who possessed large amounts of child pornography was convicted by a jury on November 17, 2022, after a 4-day trial in federal court in Sioux City.

Brandon Manning, age 41, from Mason City, Iowa, was convicted of two counts of possession of child pornography.  The verdict was returned following more than four hours of jury deliberations.

The evidence at trial showed that Manning possessed thousands of images and videos of child pornography, including pornography of children under the age of 12 years old, on an SD card in a cellphone he attempted to destroy when being served with a search warrant on March 12, 2022, and on an internal hard drive for a laptop that was found in his home, hidden in his bedroom.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Manning remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Manning faces, for each count, a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 5 years up to life of supervised release following any imprisonment.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ron Timmons and was investigated by the Mason City Police Department and the State of Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. 

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

The case file number is 22-3002.

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Source: United States Attorneys General 7

An Iowa nurse who stole fentanyl from elderly patients pled guilty on November 21, 2022, in federal court in Sioux City.  Ryan William Thornton, age 27, from Clear Lake, Iowa, was convicted of acquiring fentanyl by misrepresentation, fraud, deception, and subterfuge.

In a plea agreement, Thornton admitted that he diverted liquid fentanyl, that was supposed to be dispensed to patients, for his own personal use by removing fentanyl from the patients’ IV pumps with a syringe. 

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Thornton remains free on bond pending sentencing.  Thornton faces a possible maximum sentence of 4 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 1 year of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ron Timmons and was investigated by the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals Investigations Division Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

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

The case file number is 22-3034.

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Source: United States Attorneys General 7

A man who used a false identification document and a false social security number was sentenced today to more than two months in federal prison.

Jose Lindolfo Henriquez-Arriaga, age 39, a citizen of Honduras illegally present in the United States and residing in Charles City, Iowa, received the prison term after a September 26, 2022, guilty plea to one count of unlawful use of identification documents and one count of misuse of a social security number.

At the guilty plea, Henriquez-Arriaga admitted he used a fraudulent Social Security card and a fraudulent Permanent Resident Card, also known as a “green card,” both bearing his name, to prove his authorization to work in the United States when he completed employment and tax forms in June 2021 at a business in Alden, Iowa.  The number on the Social Security card was unassigned and the number on the Permanent Resident Card was assigned to a Korean female. 

Henriquez-Arriaga was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Henriquez-Arriaga was sentenced to 77 days’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Henriquez-Arriaga is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be turned over to immigration officials.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations. 

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

The case file number is 22-CR-68.

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Source: United States Attorneys General 7

On November 7, 2022, Antwoine Johnson, 29, from Sioux City, Iowa, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.  Johnson pled guilty June 14, 2022, in federal court in Sioux City.

Evidence at the sentencing hearing showed that on January 23, 2022, the Sioux City Police Department stopped Johnson for a traffic violation.  Law enforcement detected the smell of marijuana emanating from the car.  During a subsequent search of the car, officers found a loaded 9mm firearm in the void between the driver’s seat and console.  Officers also found approximately 120 grams of marijuana in four separate baggies in the center console.  Johnson was previously convicted of felony burglary, third degree in 2016, and was an unlawful user of marijuana, both of which prohibited him from possessing a gun. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).  PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Sentencing was held before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Johnson was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment and must serve a 2 year term of supervised release following imprisonment.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by Sioux City Police Department and 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 22-4019.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.

Source: United States Attorneys General 7

A man who possessed a firearm after the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office searched his Hawkeye, Iowa, home on August 10, 2022, pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Rusty Joe Barker, age 38, from Hawkeye, Iowa, was convicted of one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition after he was convicted of a felony offense.

In an earlier detention hearing, the evidence showed that Fayette County Deputies learned that Barker had access to a firearm and ammunition when they went to the Barker home in response to a child abuse/runaway child investigation. At the plea hearing, Barker admitted he possessed a handgun and ammunition on August 10, 2022, when the deputies searched his home.  Barker also admitted he was previously convicted of kidnapping and willful injury in the Iowa District Court for Chickasaw County on September 25, 2007. 

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Barker remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Barker faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick J. Reinert and was investigated by Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, Fayette County Attorney’s Office, Iowa State Patrol and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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

The case file number is 22-CR-02057.

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