Maurice Montez Tarver, Fentanyl Distribution, Iowa 2023

A man who was selling fentanyl in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison. Maurice Montez Tarver, 30, received the prison term after a guilty plea to one count of distribution and aiding and abetting the distribution of a controlled substance on August 30, 2023.

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that on four separate occasions between December 2022 and February 2023, law enforcement officers conducted an undercover operation and purchased pills containing fentanyl from Tarver.

Tarver was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Tarver was sentenced to 37 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Tarver 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 Adam J. Vander Stoep and was investigated as part of the Northern Iowa Heroin Initiative and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program.

The investigation was a cooperative effort of the Johnson County Drug Task Force and the Cedar Rapids Police Department. The Johnson County Drug Task Force consists of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa City Police Department, the Coralville Police Department, the North Liberty Police Department, the University of Iowa Police Department, and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.

Tarver’s sentence is a result of his involvement in the distribution of fentanyl in Cedar Rapids. The case highlights the ongoing efforts of law enforcement agencies to combat the sale and distribution of illicit substances in the area.

For more information on the case, visit the court’s website at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 23-CR-41.

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