COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports that on Tuesday (Today), January 21st, 46-year old Omar A. Martinez, of Council Bluffs, was sentenced to 300 months (25-years) in prison for Conspiracy to Distribute at least 500 Grams or More of a Controlled Substance/Methamphetamine. Martinz will serve ten years of supervised release following his release from prison.

The sentence was the result of a lengthy investigation by Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force into methamphetamine trafficking in Western Iowa and the Omaha Metro Area. The investigation revealed that methamphetamine was being brought from Mexico into the Omaha, Nebraska, area and then transported to various location in Nebraska and Western Iowa for distribution.

In addition to Martinez, 11 others were sentenced as part of the investigation. Bernave Navarrete and Chris Rouse were sentenced to 20-years each; Joseph Brown, Jackie Thielen, and Jessica Snavely were sentenced to 10-years; Brandy Kumpula and Colby Dunn, eight-years; Chase Richard, 15-years; Laura Rausch Anderson, Manda May Rowell, and, William LaBenz, were each sentenced to five-years in prison.

The case was investigated by Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Safe Streets Task Force, Omaha Police Department, Southwest Iowa Narcotics Task Force, Council Bluffs Police Department, Harlan, Iowa Police Department, and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.