August 16th, 2024

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – A woman from northeast Iowa has been sentenced to federal prison for her involvement in a drug conspiracy that resulted in the death of a young woman.

Whitaker Jo Ingles, 30, from Dyersville, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Prosecutors indicated that Ingles was part of an illegal network that sold cocaine in the Dubuque area from 2019 to early 2021. She acknowledged aiding in obtaining the cocaine from a supplier who transported it from Chicago and collaborated with others to distribute it near Madison Park in Dubuque.

According to law enforcement, one of Ingles’ associates sold the cocaine to a young woman on February 12, 2021, who later went home, used the drug, and fatally overdosed.

Ingles has been sentenced to 11 years and five months in prison and is required to pay $13,911.02 in restitution to the deceased woman’s family.

The investigation was conducted as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program by the United States Department of Justice, involving collaboration between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Iowa Medical Examiner’s Office, and the Dubuque Drug Task Force, which includes members from the Dubuque Police Department and the Dubuque Sheriff’s Office.

Source: Pacer