Iowa Woman to Federal Prison for Meth Conspiracy

Starr Ledford, 43, from Manson and Atlantic, Iowa, was sentenced on January 21, 2026, to 60 months' imprisonment. Ledford pled guilty July 22, 2025, in federal court in Sioux City to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that from January 2024 through May 2024, Ledford and others were involved in a conspiracy that distributed at least three pounds of pure methamphetamine in the Fort Dodge, Iowa, area. Evidence further showed that on two occasions in April 2024, Ledford distributed a total of more than 300 grams of pure methamphetamine to an individual cooperating with law enforcement. In May 2024, law enforcement conducted surveillance of Ledford as she traveled to Omaha, Nebraska and it was later determined she obtained about ½ pound of methamphetamine from her source of supply in Omaha. Ledford obtained methamphetamine multiple times from her source in Omaha to re-distribute in and around Fort Dodge.

United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Ledford to 60 months' imprisonment. Ledford must serve a three-year term of supervised release following imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. Ledford remains in the custody of the United States Marshal until she can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Fort Dodge Police Department, Webster County Sheriff's Office, Iowa State Patrol, Council Bluffs Police Department, and the Iowa DCI Laboratory.

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

The case file number is 25-3006. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.