Timothy T. Duax U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa
A Cedar Rapids man has been sentenced to a decade in federal prison for his involvement in methamphetamine distribution. James Vincent Thornton, 53, was sentenced on February 24, 2025, following his guilty plea on October 11, 2024, to one count of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance.
Evidence presented during the hearings indicated that Thornton was actively involved in distributing methamphetamine. In November 2021, law enforcement officers conducted a search at a residence where Thornton was staying and found approximately 224.17 grams of ice methamphetamine in his room. Further investigations revealed that in March and April 2022, officers used a confidential informant to purchase methamphetamine from Thornton on two occasions. A subsequent search in May 2022 at another location linked to Thornton uncovered an additional 71.31 grams of ice methamphetamine.
The sentencing took place in Cedar Rapids under United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Thornton received a sentence of 120 months' imprisonment followed by a five-year term of supervised release. It is noted that there is no parole option within the federal system.
Currently, Thornton remains in the custody of the United States Marshal until he is transported to a federal prison.
Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Vander Stoep prosecuted the case, which was investigated by multiple agencies including the Cedar Rapids Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force. This operation was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) initiative aimed at dismantling high-level criminal organizations threatening the United States through a collaborative approach involving various agencies.
Further details about OCDETF can be accessed at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
