Dickinson County Man Pleads Guilty to Meth Conspiracy

 Wolthuis caught with three pounds of meth leaving residence where 20 pounds of meth was seized

A Dickinson County man who conspired to distribute meth pled guilty July 7, 2021, in federal court in Sioux City.

Jared Wolthuis, 32, from Milford, Iowa, was convicted of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.

At the plea hearing, Wolthuis admitted his involvement in a conspiracy that distributed more than three pounds of pure methamphetamine from July, 2018, through approximately March of 2020 in the Dickinson County, Iowa area. On March 17, 2020, law enforcement executed a search warrant at a co-conspirators residence and seized 20 pounds of methamphetamine from the residence.  During the course of the execution of the search warrant, law enforcement stopped Wolthuis leaving the residence in a vehicle.  Upon a search of the vehicle, law enforcement seized 3 pounds of pure meth that Wolthuis admitted he planned to distribute to other persons.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Wolthuis remains free on bond previously set.  Wolthuis faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and 5 years up to life of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being 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.