Timothy T. Duax U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa
A Cedar Rapids man has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison for distributing methamphetamine. Jared Stuart Stratton, 46, pleaded guilty on August 20, 2025, to one count of distribution of a controlled substance.
At the sentencing hearing, it was revealed that Stratton sold methamphetamine on three occasions between September and October 2024 to an individual cooperating with law enforcement. United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams sentenced Stratton to 80 months in prison and ordered a five-year term of supervised release following his incarceration. There is no parole in the federal system.
Stratton is currently held by the United States Marshals Service until he is transferred to a federal prison.
This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. According to the press release, "The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States."
HSTF Kansas City leads operations across Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska from its headquarters in Kansas City. The task force includes agents from multiple federal agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives; Drug Enforcement Administration; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Internal Revenue Service; United States Marshals Service; United States Postal Inspection Service; state investigative agencies for Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska; as well as local police departments including Kansas City Missouri Police Department.
Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Vander Stoep prosecuted this case with support from HSTF Kansas City investigators along with members of a DEA Task Force comprised of DEA personnel as well as officers from Linn County Sheriff's Office, Cedar Rapids Police Department, Marion Police Department and Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.
