United States Attorney Leif Olson will hold a press conference on July 20 at 4:00 p.m. at the Ho-Chunk Building in Sioux City, Iowa, to announce the results of the sentencings of Floyd Clifford Coates and Dennis Lawson. The two men were linked to the death and disappearance of Sunny Sramek, with their sentencings set to occur earlier that afternoon.
Coates was convicted in November 2025 after an eleven-day federal trial for various offenses including drug trafficking, firearms violations, and obstruction of justice. Lawson was convicted for threatening a witness. Both cases were prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa.
Olson will be joined by representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hitchcock County (Nebraska) Sheriff’s Office, Goodland (Kansas) Police Department, and other agencies involved in investigating and prosecuting the case.
The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa advocates for the rights of 1.3 million Iowans across 52 counties spanning more than 25,120 square miles in northern Iowa; it is part of the U.S. Department of Justice and has a staff of about 60 employees, including more than 20 assistant U.S. attorneys and three high-intensity drug trafficking area attorneys among its leadership. The office prosecutes federal crimes, manages civil litigation involving the U.S. government, and collects federal debts, according to its official website.
The press conference will take place at Suite 670, Ho-Chunk Building, located at 600 4th Street in Sioux City.