An eastern Iowa man who worked as a professional rodeo clown will spend 20 years in prison and pay a $10,000 fine for his conviction on drug charges. A jury found 55-year-old Rory Meeks of Marion guilty of conspiring to manufacture marijuana in March.
It was his second felony drug conviction and Meeks was sentenced Wednesday to mandatory minimum of 20 years in federal prison. Meeks had been convicted in 1987 of three charges involving cocaine trafficking.
Evidence at his latest trial showed Meeks conspired with others to grow marijuana in rural Jones County from 2004 through 2011. Meeks planted the marijuana alongside corn and soybeans in secluded spots throughout Jones County and then tended the plants throughout the summer.
Meeks and others harvested the plants in the fall, processed the plants at a house in Jones County, and then sold the marijuana over the fall and winter. The jury found that Meeks was involved in growing over 1,000 marijuana plants between 2004 and 2011.