A Carroll man has admitted to trafficking methamphetamine and illegally possessing a firearm, pleading guilty in federal court last week to charges that prosecutors say stem from a months‑long drug operation in western Iowa.
Thirty‑two‑year‑old Shawn Zak entered his guilty plea last Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Sioux City. Federal prosecutors say Zak and others conspired to distribute more than 1,500 grams of meth between June and September of last year.
According to evidence presented at the plea hearing, the case came to a head on Sept. 11, 2025, when officers approached Zak on an active arrest warrant. Prosecutors say Zak gave officers a false name and briefly struggled with them before being taken into custody.
A search of his vehicle turned up 53 grams of pure methamphetamine, marijuana, .22‑caliber ammunition, and several items associated with drug distribution—including baggies, syringes, and scale weights. Zak admitted he intended to sell the meth. Investigators later recovered a .22‑caliber handgun that Zak had possessed in the vehicle earlier that month.
Because of prior felony convictions—including a 2023 burglary conviction in Iowa and a 2017 criminal trespass conviction in Pennsylvania—Zak was prohibited from having any firearm.
Zak remains in U.S. Marshal custody while a presentence investigation is completed. A sentencing date has not yet been set. He faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in federal prison, with a possible maximum of life imprisonment, along with more than $10 million in fines and at least five years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Iowa DCI Laboratory. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Wehde.
