Gaza, Iowa — A Gaza resident has been arrested on felony drug charges after a search warrant was carried out at his home.
According to a press release from the O’Brien County Sheriff’s Office, 43-year-old Joel Daniel Wallinga of Gaza is accused of the possession of methamphetamine and marijuana in quantities enough to require a drug tax stamp. He was arrested on Monday.
Following the search, Wallinga was charged with Drug Trafficking, a class B felony, and Drug Tax Stamp violation, a class D felony. If convicted, Wallinga could face up to 25 years in prison on the class B charge, and up to an additional five years on the class D felony charge. He also faces misdemeanor counts of second-offense possession of methamphetamine, second-offense possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
He faces a preliminary hearing on the charges on July 3rd.
He was booked into the O’Brien County Jail in Primghar and was released the next day after posting bond.
The O’Brien County Sheriff’s Office tells us they were assisted by the Sheldon Police Department, Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, and Estherville Police Department, who are all members of the Iowa Great Lakes Drug Task Force. Agents from the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement (DNE) also assisted in the search and subsequent arrest.
KIWA Staff Photo
