Duane Middlen Sentenced to 10 Years for Methamphetamine Manufacture…

A Larchwood, Iowa man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for his role in a methamphetamine manufacturing conspiracy. DUANE MIDDLEN, age 56, from Larchwood, Iowa, received the prison term after a January 30, 2014, guilty plea to conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.

At the guilty plea, MIDDLEN admitted that from no later than January 2012 and continuing until about September 2013, he was involved in a conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine with many people. MIDDLEN and Durant Kruger had received pseudoephedrine pills as well as other items and in turn manufactured methamphetamine at MIDDLEN’s residence.

Numerous persons purchased pseudoephedrine pills in Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Nebraska, and in turn provided them to MIDDLEN. MIDDLEN then manufactured methamphetamine within his residence and in buildings throughout property owned by MIDDLEN, in Lyon County, Iowa. During the conspiracy, methamphetamine was manufactured at least 500 times at MIDDLEN’s property.

MIDDLEN was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett. MIDDLEN was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment. A special assessment of $100 was imposed. He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

MIDDLEN is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jack Lammers and investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement and Lyon County Sheriff’s Office.

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 13-4092. This sentence is a significant step in the fight against methamphetamine manufacturing in Iowa, and it serves as a warning to those who would engage in such activities.

The methamphetamine manufacturing conspiracy involved numerous individuals and spanned multiple states. The investigation and prosecution of this case demonstrate the commitment of law enforcement agencies to combating drug trafficking and manufacturing in the region. MIDDLEN’s sentence reflects the seriousness of his crimes and the need to protect the public from the dangers of methamphetamine.