A Webster City man has been sent to federal prison for his involvement in a methamphetamine trafficking operation. Gabriel Allen Pelz, 44, received a 188-month sentence after pleading guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and one count of use of a communication facility to commit a felony drug crime.
Pelz was arrested in January 2022 after law enforcement intercepted conversations between him and Andrew Surprenant, a man he met while both were incarcerated in state prison. The conversations revealed that Pelz had ordered a pound of ice methamphetamine from Surprenant, who was already involved with a Mexico-based drug trafficking organization.
According to court documents, Pelz was released from state custody in December 2021 and began communicating with Surprenant in early January 2022. Law enforcement was monitoring a wiretap on Surprenant’s phone and intercepted the conversations between Pelz and Surprenant.
After Pelz left Surprenant’s residence, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop and recovered a pound of ice methamphetamine from Pelz. Pelz later admitted that he acquired the methamphetamine from Surprenant and intended to distribute it to others in the Webster City area.
Pelz was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. He will serve a six-year term of supervised release after his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Surprenant, who previously pled guilty to his involvement with the Mexico-based drug trafficking organization, was sentenced to 396 months in prison on October 21, 2022.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dillan Edwards and was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States government through a cooperative effort of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force; the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the United States Postal Inspection Service; and Homeland Security Investigations.
Pelz is currently being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison. The case file number is 22-CR-02017.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa can be followed on Twitter @USAO_NDIA for updates on this case and others.
Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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