WATERLOO, IA – Javoni Marcelius Butler, 44, of Waterloo, Iowa, known on the streets as “G Man,” will spend the next 37 years in federal prison after being convicted of flooding the Waterloo area with deadly fentanyl. Butler was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams after a jury found him guilty on September 20, 2024, of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, international money laundering, and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
The evidence painted a grim picture of a calculated operator. Starting in January 2022 and continuing until December 20, 2023, Butler made multiple trips to Mexico, amassing over 10,000 fentanyl pills and a substantial quantity of fentanyl powder. He smuggled this poison back to Waterloo, building a network to distribute it. Adding to the danger, Butler openly carried firearms and reportedly threatened violence, even against his own son, during drug-related disputes. He directed the activities of multiple individuals, including his girlfriend, in his operation.
The callousness of Butler’s actions was starkly illustrated by the death of one of his customers. On March 14, 2023, a friend asked Butler for fentanyl pills. Butler directed him to his residence to pick them up while he was out of town. The friend admitted to “popping” the pills, and Butler warned him of their danger. The next day, the friend was found dead from a fentanyl overdose – a direct result of the drugs supplied by Butler. This wasn’t just dealing; it was delivering death.
Law enforcement began to close in. On May 9, 2023, a traffic stop revealed Butler was wanted on an active warrant. A search of his vehicle uncovered a backpack stuffed with nearly $60,000 in cash. Further investigation led to searches of both Butler’s residence and a “stash” house on December 20, 2023, yielding over 40 grams of fentanyl powder, a single pill, and another firearm. Intercepted phone calls around the time of the searches revealed Butler’s desperation – he knew he was facing serious time and considered fleeing to Mexico or Belize to evade prosecution.
Butler received a 444-month prison sentence, followed by a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. He is currently in the custody of the United States Marshals awaiting transport to a designated federal prison. The case was a joint effort spearheaded by Assistant United States Attorneys Dillan Edwards and Michael Hudson, and involved multiple agencies as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), including the FBI, Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, DEA, US Postal Inspection Service, and Homeland Security Investigations.
Court file information can be found at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl (case file number 23‑CR‑02078‑CJW). Follow the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa on X @USAO_NDIA for further updates.
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Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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