Recruited people to bring pounds of methamphetamine to Iowa from California in car engine compartments.
A New Mexico man was sentenced on Feb. 22, 2019, to federal prison after he was convicted in Sioux City on Sept. 27, 2018, following a two day jury trial.
William Thomas Hill, age 41 from Bloomfield, New Mexico, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
The evidence at trial showed that Hill was a leader in a conspiracy to distribute ice methamphetamine in the Sioux City area. Hill recruited others to bring methamphetamine from California to sell in the Sioux City area. Hill, and others arranged large quantities of methamphetamine to be delivered to Sioux City on at least three occasions in the fall of 2017. On November 8, 2017, Hill, and co-defendant Kelvin Ross, were in possession 2 pounds of nearly pure methamphetamine from California. Hill was arrested while arranging the transfer of the drugs to a Sioux City man, and Ross was arrested at a local motel later that night. When Ross was arrested, officers of the Tri-State Drug Task Force found two pounds of high purity methamphetamine in the engine compartment of his car.
Hill was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Hill was sentenced to 262 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 5 year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Hill 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 Attorneys Jack Lammers and Mikala Steenholdt, and was investigated by the Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa. The Tri-State Drug Task Force consists of law enforcement personal 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..
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 17-CR-4071-LTS.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
