An eastern Iowa man who caught his residence on fire while making methamphetamine will spend 23 years in federal prison. Forty-three-year-old Rory Lee Zirkelbach of Dubuque had pled guilty plea to one count of manufacturing methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a protected location following a prior felony drug conviction.
Court records show Zirkelbach was making meth on the second floor of his residence in May of 2012 when the meth lab caught fire. A neighbor had to go into her half of the burning house to rescue her sleeping child.
This residence is within 1,000 feet of an elementary school and a park — both are protected locations. Zirkelbach was ordered to make $41,000 in restitution for damages resulting from the fire.
He must also serve a ten-year term of supervised release after the 23-year prison term. There is not parole in the federal system.