Chelsea Kay Collins Pleads Guilty to Meth Conspiracy

A Fort Dodge woman has admitted her role in a high-volume methamphetamine trafficking ring that pumped over 35 grams of pure crystal meth into the streets of north-central Iowa. Chelsea Kay Collins, 30, pleaded guilty on May 8, 2019, in federal court in Sioux City to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of actual distribution.

Collins confessed during her plea hearing that she was a key player in a coordinated drug operation running from January 2018 through September 2018. The conspiracy targeted the Fort Dodge area, where Collins facilitated multiple drug deals—four of which occurred in July 2018 alone. In those transactions, she distributed or assisted in the distribution of more than 35 grams of 100% pure meth to individuals who were, unbeknownst to her, working directly with federal law enforcement.

The case, prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde, was built through a multi-agency investigation involving the Fort Dodge Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Webster County Sheriff’s Office, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. The collaboration dismantled a network that had been flooding local communities with high-purity meth.

Collins now faces severe consequences. She is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years in federal prison, with a maximum exposure of 40 years behind bars. Additionally, she could be fined up to $5,000,000 and will serve no less than four years of supervised release if ever paroled. Sentencing is pending the completion of a presentence investigation report.

She remains in the custody of the United States Marshal, locked up without bond as she awaits judgment before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. The case file, numbered 18-3041, is accessible through the Northern District of Iowa’s electronic court filing system.

For updates on this and other federal prosecutions, follow @USAO_NDIA on Twitter. This conviction marks another blow against the meth epidemic gripping rural Iowa—one deal, one defendant, one shattered life at a time.