Defendant had a history of drug trafficking, and subsequently participated in a conspiracy that distributed more than 500 grams of meth
A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine pled guilty on Sept. 10, 2018, in federal court in Sioux City.
Raymond Andrew Kerns, 36, from Cherokee, Iowa, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Kerns was previously convicted of possession of a controlled substance, third or subsequent offense, in the Iowa District Court for Pottawattamie County in August 2017.
At the plea hearing, Kerns admitted that from January 2017 through February 2018, he was involved in a conspiracy that distributed more than 500 grams of methamphetamine mixture in and around the Cherokee, Iowa area. On Feb. 27, 2018, Kerns was apprehended by law enforcement in Storm Lake, Iowa when Kerns was attempting to meet a co-conspirator for purposes of methamphetamine trafficking. Law enforcement seized $1,500 and 8 grams of methamphetamine from Kerns, which Kerns 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. Kerns remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Kerns faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $8,000,000 fine, and at least eight years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Storm Lake Police Department, and the Iowa Division of Criminalistics Laboratory.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 18-4025.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
