A southwest Iowa man will serve 20-years in prison for distributing meth. A judge in Fremont County, Monday, handed down the sentence for 36-year old Thomas Lee Knipe, of Tabor, who was arrested following a Feb. 2016 narcotics investigation in Shenandoah. As part of the plea agreement, Knipe pleaded guilty to a felony, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, charge, and two other felony charges, including the introduction of a controlled substance into a detention facility.

Knipe was found to be in possession of nearly 40 grams of methamphetamine, $1,200 cash and drug paraphernalia. As he was being booked into jail, Knipe was found to have additional seven grams of meth in his possession. A co-defendant in the case, 32-year-old Stacey Dawn Budenholzer of Omaha, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, last March.

The case was investigated by the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office in cooperation with the Shenandoah Police Department and was prosecuted by the Fremont County Attorney’s Office.