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Eight people sentenced to prison in Dubuque ice meth ring

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June 21st, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Eight people accused of distributing more than six pounds of ice meth in eastern Iowa will spend a total of 97 years in prison. The eight admitted to distributing the drug in Dubuque after it was brought in from a Mexican drug cartel. Thirty-six-year-old Keith Ellis, 40 -year-old Brenda Harker and 41-year-old Samuel Oliver Taylor the third — are from Dubuque, while the remaining five are from Arizona, Wisconsin and California. Ellis will serve more than 13 years in prison, Harker more than six years — and Taylor will serve 15 years. Taylor’s sentence is the longest of the eight people involved as he also pleaded guilty to money laundering and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The others involved in the case include:

  • Joshua Allen Carter, age 33, from Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to 124 month’s imprisonment and 5 years’ supervised release following his May 21, 2018 guilty plea to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.
  • Michael Scott Boen, age 26, from Potosi, Wisconsin, was sentenced to 42 months’ imprisonment and 4 years’ supervised release following his July 11, 2018 guilty plea to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.
  • Melissa Marie Petesch, age 30, from Hazel Green, Wisconsin, was sentenced to 132 months’ imprisonment and 3 years’ supervised release following her June 12, 2018 guilty plea to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, conspiring to commit money laundering, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
  • Jose Juan Ceja, age 25, from Bell Gardens, California, was sentenced to 156 months’ imprisonment and 5 years’ supervised release following his June 28, 2018 guilty plea to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.
  • Mauricio Bayardo Chan, age 21, from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, was sentenced to 300 months’ imprisonment and 5 years’ supervised release following his August 1, 2018 guilty plea to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and conspiring to commit money laundering.