Disturbance Call Results in Fort Dodge Man Pleading Guilty to Federal Firearm and Methamphetamine Charges

Nicholas Janvrin, 32, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, was convicted of illegally possessing a firearm and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.  Janvrin pled guilty March 27, 2024, in federal court in Sioux City.

Janvrin was previously convicted of burglary, third degree, in the Iowa District Court for Hamilton County, in 2021.  This type of conviction prohibits Janvrin from possessing any firearm.

At the plea hearing, evidence showed that on August 1, 2023, law enforcement was called to a local hotel in Webster City regarding a disturbance and observed Janvrin.  Janvrin was arrested for outstanding arrest warrants.  During a search of the hotel room, law enforcement officers seized a Smith & Wesson .22 revolver and drug paraphernalia from a bag in the room.  The Iowa DCI Criminalistics Laboratory matched DNA from a known sample of Janvrin to the handle of the firearm and a toothbrush.  Evidence further established Janvrin’s involvement in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from January 2023 through August 2023.  Janvrin obtained at least 40 pounds of methamphetamine from a source in Des Moines to distribute in the Fort Dodge area.  

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Janvrin remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  On the firearm conviction, Janvrin faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and not more than three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.  On the conspiracy conviction, Janvrin faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Iowa DCI Laboratory, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. 

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

The case file number is 23-3026.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.