Charles City man sentenced to federal prison on drug, firearms charges; another awaits sentencing

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A Charles City man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to distributing methamphetamine and being in possession of a firearm as a drug user.

Another man listed on the same federal indictment has pleaded guilty to charges of distributing meth, a firearms charge and of being in possession of destructive devices identified as pipe bombs, similar to a type allegedly detonated and causing damage in Charles City.

The indictment filed earlier this year in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa charges Cody Roberts Winters and Thomas Jay Downer, both age 34, with distributing more than 5 grams of pure methamphetamine, known as “ice” meth, on different occasions in 2020.

It also charges Winters with possessing firearms while knowing he was an unlawful user of controlled substances, namely marijuana and methamphetamine. The weapons cited were a Diamondback .223 caliber rifle and a Mossberg 835 model 12-gauge shotgun, “and the firearms were in and affecting commerce,” the indictment said.

Winters pleaded guilty to one charge of distribution of a controlled substance and one count of possession of a firearm by a drug user.

He was sentenced in U.S. District Court last Thursday to 60 months (five years) in federal prison on each of the two counts, with the prison terms to run concurrently. There is no parole in the federal prison system.

After release from prison, Winters will be subject to five years of supervised release on the drug charge and three years of supervised release on the firearms charge, with both of those sentences to be served concurrently.

The sentence also recommends that Winters serve his sentence as close to his family as is possible, and also recommends that he complete a 500-hour comprehensive drug abuse treatment program while in custody.

In the sentencing recommendation, U.S. Attorney Timothy Duax wrote, “Defendant (Winters) was a drug trafficker who had firearms, manufactured explosives, taught the manufacturing techniques to his co-defendant resulting in the manufacture of destructive devices containing shrapnel and set off an explosive in a neighborhood in Charles City resulting in property damage.”

The co-defendant, Downer, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of a controlled substance, one count of possession of a national firearms act device not registered to owner and one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

His sentencing has been set for Feb. 10 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.

In the indictment, Downer is charged with possessing five destructive devices “commonly called ‘pipe bombs,’” and also possessing a Taurus TH9C 9mm handgun.

According to the activity log for the Charles City Police Department, at 11:33 p.m. on June 25, 2020, police responded to the 300 block of 16th Avenue for “a report of a loud explosion sound,” and officers spoke to persons in the area.

A few minutes later, at 11:48 p.m., police responded to the 1200 block of F Street for a report of criminal mischief, regarding damages done to two homes and a vehicle “caused by an unknown device.” Damage was estimated at $2,500.