Orange City, Iowa — A Hawarden man has been sentenced for felony controlled substance possession and operating without consent.
Sioux County Attorney Thomas Kunstle says that 24-year-old Eric Misael Topete of Hawarden has been sentenced for the crimes of Operating a Motor Vehicle Without Owner’s Consent, an Aggravated Misdemeanor; and Possession of a Controlled Substance-Fentanyl, a Class D Felony.
Kunstle says that on October 2, 2023, the Hawarden Police received a report of a stolen vehicle. Police secured a video showing the suspect was Eric Topete. Topete had previously been placed on probation with the Department of Corrections for stealing gas causing significant damage to the gas pump in the process. Upon further investigation, police learned Topete admitted to taking the vehicle to purchase Fentanyl.
Topete was sentenced for the October 2 incident and ordered to serve an indeterminate five-year prison sentence concurrently with an indeterminate two-year prison sentence. Topete’s probation was also revoked, and he was ordered to serve another two-year prison sentence for violating his probation.
