A U-S District Court Judge in Pottawattamie County, Wednesday, handed down prison sentence for a California woman convicted on drug charges. Chief Judge John A. Jarvey sentenced 22-year old Lorena Morales, of La Habra, California, to 120 months (10-years) in prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Morales’ term of imprisonment is to be followed by five years of supervised release.

The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa says Morales was convicted by a jury after a three-day trial in October of 2014. During trial, it was established that on February 27, 2014, Morales was driving her Nissan Altima when it was stopped by members of the Iowa State Patrol and found to contain sixteen pounds of methamphetamine. Trial testimony showed that Morales was working with several other people, including two others in the vehicle at the time of the stop, in the transportation of methamphetamine from California to various locations in the United States, including Waterloo, Iowa.

On December 16, 2014, Chief Judge Jarvey sentenced co-defendant Mario Ruben Borboa to 160 months in prison, and co-defendant Melissa Nicole Gallardo to 65 months in prison, for their roles in this offense. The investigation was conducted by the Iowa State Patrol and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.