DAVENPORT, IA - On November 16, 2012, Mark Eugene Ball, age 28, of Muscatine, Iowa, was sentenced to 105 months imprisonment for conspiring to manufacture methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. United States District Judge Stephanie M. Rose also sentenced Ball to 5 years supervised release.

Ball agreed with others to manufacture methamphetamine from February 2009 through February 2012. Ball distributed significant quantities of methamphetamine to multiple customers in both Illinois and Iowa over the course of the conspiracy.

The case was investigated by the Muscatine County Narcotics Task Force and was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

 

DAVENPORT, IA - On November 16, 2012, Jorge Carrango-Valencia, age 28, of Muscatine, Iowa, was sentenced to 168 months imprisonment for conspiring to manufacture methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. United States District Judge Stephanie M. Rose also sentenced Carrango-Valencia to 5 years supervised release.

Carrango-Valencia agreed with others to manufacture methamphetamine from February 2009 through February 2012. Carrango-Valencia directed co-conspirators to pick up loads of methamphetamine and deliver them to the Muscatine, Iowa area. Carrango-Valencia personally distributed over 30 kilograms of methamphetamine over the course of the conspiracy.

The case was investigated by the Muscatine County Narcotics Task Force and was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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DAVENPORT, IA - On November 16, 2012, David James Baber, age 44, of Davenport, Iowa, was sentenced to 200 months imprisonment for the crime of being a career criminal in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. United States District Court Judge Stephanie M. Rose also sentenced Baber to serve five years of supervised release following imprisonment and pay $100 towards the Crime Victim Fund.

Baber previously had pled guilty to the charge of being an armed career criminal in possession of a firearm. His 200-month sentence consisted of 12 months for violating conditions of his previous term of supervised release relating to a federal conviction for attempting to aid the escape of a federal prisoner, plus a consecutive 188 months for the new offense of possessing a firearm as an armed career criminal.

The new offense occurred on January 31, 2012, when Davenport, Iowa, police officers investigating a complaint that Baber had assaulted a person with a firearm, stopped Baber and found him in possession of a stolen .22 caliber revolver. Baber was classified as an armed career criminal because he had three or more prior convictions for crimes of violence.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Davenport, Iowa, Police Department, and the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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DAVENPORT, IA - On November 16, 2012, Walter R. Zimmerer, III, age 70, of Colts Neck, New Jersey, formerly owner of Zimmerer Custom Homes in LeClaire, Iowa, was sentenced by United States District Judge Stephanie M. Rose to one-month imprisonment and 12 months home confinement, having previously pleaded guilty to nine counts of bank fraud, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Zimmerer was also ordered to serve two years of supervised release following the home confinement, pay restitution to his victims in the amount of $379,533, and pay a $900 special assessment to the crime victim fund.

In 2007 and 2008, Zimmerer took out loans from Northwest Bank & Trust Company and Great River Bank & Trust to construct homes in Bettendorf and LeClaire, Iowa. The loans were on a draw system, so that Zimmerer could draw funds on the loans at various stages of the construction process provided he proved he was current on payments to subcontractors.

Zimmerer, who had fallen behind on earlier construction projects, diverted the money to pay debts in connection with those projects. In order to deceive the banks and continue to draw funds, Zimmerer created false documents (mechanics lien waivers) purporting to show that he was current on his payments to subcontractors.

Zimmerer eventually defaulted on the loans. Although the banks completed the construction projects and sold the homes, they still suffered a net loss of over $379,000.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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DAVENPORT, IA - On October 15, 2012, Charles Edward Bateman, age 45, and Roscoe Terrell Lee, age 32, both of Davenport, Iowa, having previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine base, were sentenced today, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. United States District Court Judge John A. Jarvey sentenced Bateman to 168 months imprisonment and eight years supervised release following imprisonment. Lee was sentenced to 190 months imprisonment and five years supervised release following imprisonment.

From approximately October 2007, until June 2011, Alon Shorter, Dale Shorter, Roscoe Lee, Charles Bateman, Charles Harrington, David Minor, and Kadar Wall conspired to distribute in excess of 2.8 kilograms of cocaine base. During the investigation, law enforcement officers made two controlled purchases of crack cocaine from co-defendant Dale Shorter. Roscoe Lee supplied in excess of 8.4 kilograms to the charged conspiracy, primarily to Alon and Dale Shorter. Law enforcement officers also made five controlled purchases of crack from Harrington and one from Bateman, who distributed crack cocaine provided by Dale and Alon Shorter.

Minor and Wall agreed to distribute crack cocaine for Dale and Alon Shorter at multiple locations in Davenport, Iowa, including an apartment on Heatherton Drive.

This case was investigated by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Davenport, Iowa, Police Department. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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DAVENPORT, IA - On September 14, 2012, David Kent Minor, age 38, and Kadar Ameer Wall, age 37, both from Davenport, Iowa were sentenced by United States District Court Judge John A. Jarvey, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine base, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Minor was sentenced to 140 months imprisonment and ordered to serve five years supervised release. Wall was sentenced to 96 months imprisonment and ordered to serve five years supervised release. Both were also ordered to pay $100 towards the Crime Victims Fund. Three other co-defendants, Charles Bateman,
Charles Harrington, Roscoe Lee, have pled guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

From approximately October 2007 until June 2011, Alon Shorter, Dale Shorter, Roscoe Lee, Charles Bateman, Charles Harrington, David Minor and Kadar Wall conspired to distribute in excess of 2.8 kilograms of cocaine base. This investigation included two controlled purchases of crack cocaine directly from co-defendant, Dale Shorter. The investigation also included five controlled purchases of crack from Harrington and Bateman, who distributed crack cocaine provided by Dale and Alon Shorter. Minor and Wall also agreed to distribute crack cocaine for Dale and Alon Shorter at multiple locations in Davenport, including an apartment on Heatherton Drive.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Division of Narcotics Enforcement and the Davenport, Iowa, Police Department. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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DAVENPORT, IA - On September 14, 2012, Sedrick McKinley Hall, age 32 of Davenport, was sentenced to 54 months imprisonment for possessing marijuana with intent to distribute, possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and violating federal supervised release, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. United States District Judge John A. Jarvey also ordered that Hall serve a term of three years supervised release following imprisonment.

In 2008, Hall was prosecuted in United States District Court for possessing a firearm as a felon and sentenced to 27 months imprisonment. After his release, and while under supervision by the United States Probation Office, Hall was arrested by Davenport police and Iowa DNE agents in connection with an investigation of marijuana trafficking. After using an informant to make buys of marijuana from Hall, police executed a search warrant at his residence, finding a quantity of marijuana, a Russian- made SKS 7.62mm assault rifle along with ammunition, and a quantity of synthetic marijuana. Hall subsequently was indicted in United States District court on drug and firearms charges. He also was charged with violating the terms of his supervised release. Hall pleaded guilty to all charges.

The case was investigated by the Davenport, Iowa, Police Department, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
DAVENPORT, IA - On August 23, 2012, Leon Darnell Pye, age 33, of Davenport, Iowa, was sentenced to 219 months imprisonment, having previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine base and possession of a firearm as a felon, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Chief United States District Court Judge James E. Gritzner also ordered Pye to serve five years of supervised release and pay $100 towards the Crime Victims Fund.

Two co-defendants, Marzel Jones and Robert Ferguson, have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

A police/federal investigation revealed that from approximately September 2009 to January 30, 2011, Pye and others conspired to distribute in excess of 2.8 kilograms of crack cocaine. Pye obtained quantities of crack from multiple sources and distributed the drugs in the Davenport area. Pye stored and cooked crack at the Davenport residence of co-defendant

Ferguson and elsewhere, and Pye stored weapons at Ferguson's residence. On January 30, 2011, police found Pye's Uzi .380 caliber pistol and Tech 9 pistol at Ferguson's residence. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Davenport, Iowa, Police Department. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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DAVENPORT, IA - On August 15, 2012, Bernard Anderson, Sr., age 47, of Davenport, Iowa, was sentenced to 120 months imprisonment, having previously pleaded guilty to all counts of a four-count indictment charging conspiracy to distribute crack, distribution of crack, and possession with intent to distribute crack, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Senior United States District Judge Robert W. Pratt also sentenced Anderson to 5 years supervised release following imprisonment and ordered him to pay $400 to the Crime Victims Fund.

On October 24, 2011, when Anderson pleaded guilty, he admitted that he had conspired with other persons to distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine. He further admitted that he distributed crack in Davenport on April 23 and again on April 24, 2011. On April 24, 2011, members of the Davenport, Iowa Vice and Narcotics Unit executed a search at a residence used by Anderson and recovered 25 packages of crack ready for distribution.

The case was investigated by the Davenport, Iowa, Police Department, and it was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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DAVENPORT, IA - On August 15, 2012, Amanda Diener, age 37, of Bettendorf, Iowa, was sentenced to 240 months imprisonment, having previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sexually exploit a child, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Senior United States District Judge Robert W. Pratt also sentenced Diener to 15 years supervised release following imprisonment and ordered her to pay $100 to the Crime Victims Fund.

On October 24, 2011, when she entered a plea of guilty, Diener admitted that she met a man on-line who identified himself as Gary King from Massachusetts. After conversing for months, King, who was later identified as Hobart Yates, asked to chat with a minor female to whom Diener had access. During on-line chats, Yates asked Diener to have the minor female perform sexual acts with her, photograph them, and send the images to him. Deiner complied and produced images of child pornography and sent them to Yates. Diener and Yates admitted that Deiner had performed sex acts on a live webcam in Bettendorf, Iowa, that were seen by Yates in Massachusetts.

The case was investigated by the Bettendorf, Iowa, Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and it was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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DAVENPORT, IA - On August 14, 2012, Brian Edward Reynolds, age 44, from Muscatine, Iowa, was sentenced to 384 months imprisonment after having been convicted at trial for Enticement of a minor to engage in unlawful sexual conduct, 180 months for Production of Child Pornography, and 120 months for receipt of child pornography, all sentences to run concurrently, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. United States District Judge Robert W. Pratt also ordered Reynolds to serve fifteen years on supervised release following imprisonment and pay $300 towards the Crime Victims Fund.

From December of 2008 to January of 2009, Reynolds communicated on-line with a thirteen-year-old minor female for the purpose of enticing her to engage in sexual conduct. Near the end of January of 2009, Reynolds lured the minor out of her home and met with her on the street in Muscatine. Reynolds used force to get the minor to submit to his sexual advances. Later the Federal Bureau of Investigation seized Reynolds's cellular telephone and determined that he had received pornographic images of another minor female that Reynolds had requested from her.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Muscatine Iowa Police Department. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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