Muscatine man sentenced to federal prison for methamphetamine charges

DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) - A Muscatine man was sentenced Sept. 6, to 168 months, or 14 years, in prison for conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Benjamin Stuart Gomes, 49, will be required to serve five years of supervised release after the prison term, court records show. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents, officers on May 22, 2022, saw Gomes receive a package from another man at that man’s residence in Buffalo, Iowa, and drive away from the residence.

Shortly after Gomes left the Buffalo residence, law enforcement made a traffic stop in Muscatine County of Gomes who was driving his vehicle, court records show. During the traffic stop, Gomes was found to be in possession of approximately three pounds of methamphetamine. He admitted to knowingly possessing the methamphetamine with the intent to distribute some or all of it to others.

In a subsequent search warrant of Gomes’s vehicle seized during the traffic stop, law enforcement recovered approximately 16 pounds of methamphetamine from the vehicle.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement, according to a media release. The United States Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case.

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