DES MOINES, Iowa – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports that on August 5, 2026, a federal jury in Des Moines convicted a Marshalltown man of possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
According to public court documents and evidence presented at trial, in early 2025, Christopher James Moore, 55, was the subject of a methamphetamine investigation by the Mid-Iowa Drug Task Force. On March 25, 2025, police stopped a vehicle in which Moore was a passenger. During the traffic stop, Moore possessed over half of a pound of methamphetamine. A subsequent search of his trailer located over 300 grams of methamphetamine, U.S. currency, and digital scales and baggies, used to weigh and package drugs for sale. The methamphetamine Moore possessed with intent to distribute was 100% pure, according to lab testing performed by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
Currently, Moore faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the United States sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. Mid-Iowa Drug Task Force investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Shai Gonzales and Mallory Weiser prosecuted the case.
