Melvin Cloud Jr, Methamphetamine Trafficking, IA 2021

Sioux City, IA – Melvin Cloud, Jr., a 44-year-old armed career criminal from Sioux City, Iowa, was handed down a severe federal prison sentence on November 18, 2021. The defendant, previously convicted of three drug trafficking offenses, faced justice for distributing over 82 grams of methamphetamine and illegal firearm possession.

Cloud pled guilty to one count of distribution of methamphetamine and one count of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. He was caught distributing the dangerous substance on four separate occasions in Sioux City in 2020.

During a February 25, 2021, search warrant at his residence, police seized four firearms, including a stolen .40 caliber pistol and a 12-gauge shotgun. As a convicted drug user and felon, Cloud was barred from owning guns, yet he managed to amass an arsenal that authorities say he used in his criminal endeavors.

The sentencing was presided over by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Cloud was sentenced to 141 months’ imprisonment, followed by a 4-year term of supervised release. He remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.

Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood prosecuted the case, while the Tri-State Drug Task Force, composed of law enforcement personnel from various agencies including DEA and the Sioux City Police Department, conducted the investigation.

Court file information for this gripping tale of drug trafficking and gun violence can be accessed at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 21-4018.

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