A Dubuque man who possessed and distributed fentanyl was sentenced today to five years in federal prison.

Justin Jawuan Members, age 28, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 29, 2025, guilty plea to possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

In a plea agreement, Members admitted that law enforcement officers saw him distribute fentanyl twice.  After the distributions, law enforcement officers searched a home that Members stayed at and located over 300 fentanyl pills and a firearm.  

Members was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Members was sentenced to 60 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a four-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Members is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael S.A. Hudson and investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

The case file number is 25-CR-1022.

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