Sioux City, Iowa — A George man will spend a little more than 10 years in prison on federal drug charges.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa says 40-year-old John Rothkehl pled guilty in April of this year for conspiring, possessing, and distributing methamphetamine. He was sentenced last week in U.S. District Court in Sioux City.
Evidence presented during court proceedings indicated that from January 2022 through October 2024, Rothkehl and others conspired to distribute at least 150 grams of pure methamphetamine and that in September 2024, Rothkehl distributed meth to an informant. In October of last year, law enforcement stopped a vehicle in which Rothkehl was a passenger. A K-9 detection resulted in authorities finding more than 35 grams of methamphetamine in the backseat with Rothkehl. Rothkehl admitted he was planning to distribute the drug. Rothkehl was arrested and admitted that he had a fentanyl pill hidden in his underwear.
Evidence also showed Rothkehl made trips to Spencer and South Sioux City to obtain methamphetamine to distribute in the George area.
Rothkehl is being held in the custody of a U.S. Marshal pending transport to a federal prison.
(Courtesy fellow Community First Broadcasting station KUOO in Spirit Lake)
