A Cedar Rapids man and a Palo woman who conspired to distribute methamphetamine were sentenced this week to federal prison from charges in incidents in April 29, 2022.
Zachary James Kruse, age 38, from Cedar Rapids, received the prison term after a May 4 guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Cheyenne Nicole Mason, age 34, from Palo, received the prison term after a May 15 guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
Mount Vernon-Lisbon police chief Doug Shannon noted that the lead investigator on this case was Jeff Frankfurt, but almost all the officers at the department assisted in some manner, as did Cedar Rapids Police Department and Linn County Sheriff’s Officers.
“We worked the investigation for a couple of weeks before we were able to secure a search warrant,” Shannon said. “Kruze and Mason were both arrested April 29, when we executed the search warrant.”
The investigation continued until June of this year.
Evidence at the sentencing hearings showed that on April 29, 2022, law enforcement officers searched a room at the Mount Vernon Motel, where Kruse and Mason had been staying. Officers recovered 120.84 grams of methamphetamine, some hidden in deodorant containers.
Kruse and Mason were sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Kruse was sentenced to 240 months imprisonment and must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release.
Mason was sentenced to 59 months and 393 days imprisonment and must serve a 5-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Kruse and Mason are being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until they can be transported to a federal prison.
Shannon also said during the search warrant at the motel room, officers also found several items stolen in area burglaries.
“Based upon this, an additional search warrant was obtained and executed on a storage shed in Palo where additional stolen items were located,” Shannon said.
The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and Assistant United States Attorney Jason Norwood and investigated by the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Police Department.