Eight people accused of distributing more than six pounds of ice meth in eastern Iowa will spend a total of 97 years in prison.
The eight admitted to distributing the drug in Dubuque after it was brought in from a Mexican drug cartel. Thirty-six-year-old Keith Ellis, 40 -year-old Brenda Harker and 41-year-old Samuel Oliver Taylor the third, are from Dubuque, while the remaining five are from Arizona, Wisconsin and California.
Ellis will serve more than 13 years in prison, Harker more than six years — and Taylor will serve 15 years. Taylor also pleaded guilty to money laundering and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The others involved in the case are:
Joshua Allen Carter, age 33, from Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to 124 month’s imprisonment following his May 21, 2018 guilty plea to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. Michael Scott Boen, age 26, from Potosi, Wisconsin, was sentenced to 42 months’ imprisonment following his July 11, 2018 guilty plea to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. Melissa Marie Petesch, age 30, from Hazel Green, Wisconsin, was sentenced to 132 months’ imprisonment following her June 12, 2018 guilty plea to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, conspiring to commit money laundering, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Jose Juan Ceja, age 25, from Bell Gardens, California, was sentenced to 156 months’ imprisonment following his June 28, 2018 guilty plea to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. Mauricio Bayardo Chan, age 21, from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, was sentenced to 300 months’ imprisonment guilty plea to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and conspiring to commit money laundering.