Donovan Lang, Meth Trafficking, Iowa 2021

A Sioux City man has pleaded guilty to methamphetamine trafficking, federal officials announced recently.

Donovan Lang, 27, from Sioux City, Iowa, was convicted of one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on November 19, 2021, in federal court in Sioux City.

According to court documents, Lang was the sole back seat passenger of a vehicle stopped for various traffic violations on August 15, 2021, in Sioux City, Iowa. During the traffic stop, Lang was found to possess a knife and roughly 100 grams of methamphetamine.

The methamphetamine was wrapped in purple latex gloves that were found beneath where Lang was seated. About 5-7 matching purple latex gloves and a knife were found in Lang’s pockets.

Lang’s guilty plea means he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment, a possible maximum sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, and at least 4 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

Lang remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Sioux City Police Department and the Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa. The task force consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 21-4077.

Related Federal Cases