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Three Council Bluffs Residents Sentenced to Federal Prison for Drug and Gun Offenses

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March 9th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – Three people were sentenced last week in Council Bluffs U-S District Court, on drug and other charges. Authorities say 42-year-old Bruce Lee Gamble and 43-year-old Alberto Monroe Rocha, both of Council Bluffs, were sentenced to 60 and 18 months in prison, respectively.

Gamble was sentenced to prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and ordered to serve five years of supervised release to follow his prison term and pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victims’ Fund. Gamble pleaded guilty to the offense on September 21, 2020.

Rocha was sentenced to to prison for prohibited person in possession of a firearm and ordered to serve three years of supervised release to follow his prison term and pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victims’ Fund. Rocha pleaded guilty to the offense on August 21, 2020.

Co-conspirator, 49-year old Daniel Walker Gabehart, also of Council Bluffs, was sentenced on December 16, 2020 to 60 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and another 60 months, to run consecutively, for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Gabehart was ordered to serve five years of supervised release to follow his prison term and pay a $200 special assessment to the Crime Victims’ Fund. Gabehart pleaded guilty to the offense on August 4, 2020.

Detectives with the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force conducted several controlled methamphetamine purchases with Gabehart, which led to a search warrant of his residence. Gabehart, Gamble, and Rocha were located at the Council Bluffs apartment along with methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and several firearms.

This investigation was conducted by the Council Bluffs Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.