Mason City drug dealer headed back to federal prison

CEDAR RAPIDS — It’s 20 years in federal prison for a Mason City drug dealer who received methamphetamine by mail.

34-year-old Justin Hanawalt pleaded guilty in February to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance after having previously been convicted of a serious drug felony. The US Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa’s Office says evidence at the sentencing hearing showed Hanawalt had packages sent to his residence containing “ice” meth from his source of supply in California.

After he was caught, Hanawalt continued to find alternative suppliers to provide him with controlled substances. Hanawalt was on federal supervised release for a previous meth-related conviction at that time. While in custody for that offense, Hanawalt smuggled controlled substances into jail and distributed them to other inmates.

Hanawalt was sentenced on Tuesday by US District Court Judge C. J. Williams to 20 years in prison, which will be followed by a ten-year term of supervised release. He was also sentenced to a consecutive term of 33 months in prison for violating the conditions of his supervised release on his prior federal conviction.

There is no parole in the federal system.