Breckenridge Pilot Among Four Sentenced in Iowa Weed Ring

Four individuals, including a Colorado pilot, were handed down sentences this week for their involvement in a major marijuana trafficking ring that operated between 2011 and 2013. The case marks the latest in a series of DEA investigations into large-scale drug operations.

James Allen, 53, from Belton, Missouri, was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment followed by three months’ home detention for conspiracy to distribute marijuana. Matthew Fritz, 39, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received five years’ probation and a $3,000 fine. Cory Kintzel, 39, from Vinton, Iowa, faced 12 months’ imprisonment.

The pilot, Mark Swanson, 55, from Breckenridge, Colorado, was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment and fined $10,000, with an additional $35,000 money judgment. His airplane was also forfeited.

Allen, Fritz, and Kintzel were part of a larger group charged with moving large quantities of high-grade marijuana from Colorado and California to the Cedar Rapids area. Swanson was the primary supplier during the latter stages of the conspiracy, growing much of the marijuana himself and flying it into Iowa City airport.

United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade has already sentenced five other individuals involved in the ring. Three participants are still awaiting sentencing: Jesse Tolen from Castella, California; Corey Marx from Cedar Rapids; and Shannon Ehlts from Lowden, Iowa.