Sioux City, Iowa — A Sioux City man who possessed, with the intent to distribute, methamphetamine was convicted by a jury on February 25, 2022, after a 4-day trial in federal court in Sioux City.
The United States Attorney’s Office says that 35-year-old Carmelo Valdez Romero of Sioux City was convicted of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The verdict was returned following about three hours of jury deliberations.
They tell us that the evidence at trial showed that on March 17, 2020, Valdez Romero and others possessed with intent to distribute about 20 pounds of methamphetamine. Valdez Romero aided others in the removal of 20 one-pound packages of methamphetamine hidden in the gas tank of a rental vehicle, which had traveled from California to rural Dickinson County, Iowa, with the methamphetamine for further re-distribution. Specifically, in a machine shed on the property, Valdez Romero removed the rear seats of the vehicle, removed the fuel pump, as well as other equipment attached to the gas tank, and physically helped another retrieve the methamphetamine from the two-part gas tank. They tell us that during the execution of a search warrant at the property, law enforcement agents seized 15 pounds of methamphetamine from a safe inside the machine shed, and five more pounds of methamphetamine being driven away from the property, including one pound of methamphetamine from the vehicle operated by Valdez Romero. Agents also seized $700 from Valdez Romero and $900 from the other two vehicle occupants, all pre-serialized money used by agents earlier that day to purchase one pound of methamphetamine from Valdez Romero’s drug associate by confidential informants.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Valdez Romero remains in the custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $10 million fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
