A parolee was recently arrested again on a same charge — for allegedly making meth. The 54-year-old man, an Iowa resident, is facing a Class B felony drug manufacturing charge of possession with the intent to deliver more than 5 grams of methamphetamine. He could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
Police say they searched the man’s home on a warrant where the allegedly found a meth lab along with hydrochloric acid, which provided the power for the lab. The accused has priors in two Iowa counties and served time for aggravated battery, a charge to which he pleaded guilty. He also has several other drug-related and theft convictions in the state.
In 2014, the man was charged again for drug manufacturing and also charged with endangering the life of his young son who was apparently present while he was cooking meth. Tests for exposure to the drug on the boy came back positive. After entering a guilty plea on those charges, he was given 3 1/2 years probation. In this circumstance, the accused also faces one charge of possession of lithium, one charge of possession of sodium hydroxid and one charge of possession of ammonia nitrate. These are Class D felonies in Iowa for which he could spend five years in prison for each if convicted.
Getting together a strong legal team may be a wise move for Iowa residents accused of serious criminal offenses like drug manufacturing. A savvy attorney will assess whether his or her client was taken into custody under the letter of the law and determine whether search warrants were properly executed. A lawyer may be successful in working with the prosecuting attorney to lessen his or her client’s sentence or, in some cases, having the charges dropped entirely.
Source: qctimes.com, “Bettendorf man arrested on meth manufacturing charges“, Thomas Geyer, Feb. 25, 2018
