Hardheart had lengthy criminal history before she was caught near the Dinosaur Park playground with a distribution quantity of meth.
A woman who trafficked methamphetamine was sentenced on Aug. 28, 2019 to five years in federal prison.
Cecelia V. Hardheart, age 26, from Winnebago, Nebraska, received the prison term after an April 11, 2019, guilty plea to one count of possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of actual (pure) methamphetamine near a protected location.
Evidence at the detention, change of plea, and sentencing hearing revealed Cecelia V. Hardheart tried to hide 27 grams of ice methamphetamine in her person during a traffic stop, conducted within 1000 feet of the real property comprising a public playground, Dinosaur Park, located at 1515 Nebraska Street, and Alfred Thompson Children’s Park located at 803 14th Street in Sioux City, Iowa. She refused to surrender the meth, requiring a search warrant to be obtained and executed by police and medical staff, who removed the meth by force. Hardheart has a lengthy criminal history including weapons charges (stemming from her possession of a 24-inch machete) and two assault convictions.
Hardheart was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Hardheart was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment. She must also serve a 8-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Hardheart is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until she can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was investigated by the Sioux City, Iowa Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 19-4011. Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
