A Coralville man has been sentenced to 144 months in federal prison after being convicted of drug and firearm offenses. Jacky Michael Mabikulu, 35, received the sentence for possession with intent to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug crime.
Court records show that Mabikulu had a loaded handgun and 397 fentanyl pills made to look like prescription medication. He was previously convicted in Iowa District Court for Johnson County in both 2022 and 2024 for possessing firearms as a felon.
After serving his prison term, Mabikulu will have four years of supervised release. Federal inmates are not eligible for parole.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa announced the sentence. The case was investigated by the Johnson County Drug Task Force, which included assistance from the Iowa City Police Department, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement (DNE), University of Iowa Police Department, Coralville Police Department, Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, and North Liberty Police Department.
According to information from federal agencies, counterfeit pills containing fentanyl often look similar to pharmaceutical products but can be deadly. As little as two milligrams of fentanyl is considered potentially fatal. Fentanyl remains a leading cause of drug-related deaths in the United States, with nearly 48,500 fatalities reported in 2024. More details on the dangers posed by counterfeit pills are available at the Drug Enforcement Administration’s One Pill Can Kill initiative: https://www.dea.gov/onepill.
This prosecution falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that coordinates law enforcement efforts across agencies to reduce violent crime and gun violence while supporting community organizations aimed at preventing violence. The Justice Department launched an updated violent crime reduction strategy for PSN on May 26, 2021. Additional information about Project Safe Neighborhoods can be found at https://www.justice.gov/psn.
"There is no parole in the federal system."