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Press Release

Council Bluffs Resident Sentenced for Distributing Methamphetamine

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Iowa

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa - United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum announced that on January 21, 2020, Omar A. Martinez, age 46, was sentenced to 300 months in prison by Chief Judge John A. Jarvey for Conspiracy to Distribute at least 500 Grams or More of a Controlled Substance. Martinz will serve ten years of supervised release following his release from prison.

The sentencing was the result of a lengthy investigation by Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force into methamphetamine trafficking in Western Iowa and the Omaha Metro Area. The investigation revealed that methamphetamine was being brought from Mexico into the Omaha, Nebraska, area and then transported to various location in Nebraska and Western Iowa for distribution.

The following were sentenced as part of this investigation, and received the following years in prison: Bernave Navarrete,twenty years; Joseph Brown, ten years; Chris Rouse, twenty years; Jackie Thielen, ten years; Brandy Kumpula, eight years; Chase Richard, fifteen years; Jessica Snavely, ten years; Colby Dunn, eight years; Laura Rausch Anderson, five years; Manda May Rowell, five years; and, William LaBenz, five years.

This case was investigated by Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force, Omaha Police Department, Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force, Council Bluffs Police Department, Harlan, Iowa Police Department, and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

Contact

Rachel J. Scherle
515-473-9300
USAIAS-PAO@usdoj.gov

Updated January 22, 2020

Topic
Drug Trafficking