A Cherokee man pleaded guilty on Tuesday in Sioux City Federal Court for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.
36-year-old Dustin Coates was previously convicted in 2013 for distribution of a controlled substance in South Dakota. Due to that prior conviction, Coates faces between 15 years and life in prison.
At a plea hearing on the most recent charge, Coates admitted his involvement in a conspiracy that distributed at least 150 grams of pure methamphetamine from March of 2021 into March of this year. Back on March 8th, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle Coates was driving. Coates threw two baggies of methamphetamine from his person while attempting to flee the traffic stop on foot. At the plea hearing, Coates admitted that he planned to distribute the over 60 grams of meth to other individuals.
Sentencing will be set after a pre-sentence report is prepared. Coates remains in custody of the U.S. Marshal pending sentencing.
