MASON CITY, IOWA – Two brothers from Mason City are facing decades behind bars after being sentenced for running a methamphetamine distribution operation, the Department of Justice announced today. Gary Winters, 63, received a 25-year sentence, while his brother, Bradley Winters, 58, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.
The pair were convicted following an investigation that revealed their involvement in a drug conspiracy operating between July and August 2023. Bradley Winters directly sold methamphetamine to a confidential informant working with law enforcement. Gary Winters, already on supervised release for a prior 2010 drug conviction, possessed over 180 grams of methamphetamine when stopped by officers on August 24, 2023. He’s been held accountable for that violation along with the new conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute charges.
Bradley Winters’s rap sheet is staggering, boasting 33 prior convictions. This includes a 2009 federal conviction for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine, alongside numerous theft and assault charges. He attempted to evade justice after being indicted, failing to appear in federal court on July 18, 2024. When officers finally located him in Clear Lake, Iowa on July 26, 2024, he fled on foot, physically resisting arrest. He was found with multiple baggies of methamphetamine and over $6,000 in cash.
Gary Winters’s criminal history isn’t much cleaner. In 1999, he was convicted of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and carrying firearms during drug trafficking. His 2010 conviction involved conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Both men were clearly undeterred by prior encounters with the law, continuing to peddle poison in the Mason City area.
United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand handed down the sentences in Sioux City. Gary Winters will serve 300 months’ imprisonment, followed by a 10-year term of supervised release. Bradley Winters received 240 months, also with a 10-year supervised release term. There is no parole in the federal system, meaning both men will serve nearly their entire sentences. Both are currently in the custody of the United States Marshals awaiting transport to a designated federal prison.
The investigation was a collaborative effort between the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Department, Clear Lake Police Department, and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement. Assistant United States Attorney Ron Timmons prosecuted the case. Court file information can be found at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl, case file number 23-3032. Follow the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa on X @USAO_NDIA.
RELATED: Winters Brothers Get Decades for Meth Pipeline
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Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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