United States Drug Enforcement Administration

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Todd Smith, Assistant Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-Chicago Division, and U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Harris of the Central District of Illinois announced that Michael James Grommet, 37, of Marshalltown, Iowa, was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment on March 9, 2022, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute at least 50 grams of actual methamphetamine.

At the sentencing hearing, the government established that Grommet worked with associates to distribute over seven kilograms of ice methamphetamine in both Illinois and Iowa. The government detailed Grommet’s criminal history, which included over twenty criminal convictions.

Also at the hearing, Chief U.S. District Judge Sara Darrow discussed the seriousness of Grommet’s “major distribution” offense, describing the “extreme physical and mental destruction” methamphetamine has on the community. Judge Darrow stated that Grommet posed “the most severe risk to recidivate” she had seen “in a long time” with “absolutely no regard for other individuals.”

Grommet was convicted following a jury trial in August 2021. Grommet’s co-defendant, Buddy Hal Gunter, who also went to trial, will be sentenced on March 16, 2022.

The statutory penalties for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute at least 50 grams of actual methamphetamine are a mandatory minimum term of 10 years and up to life in prison, up to a $10 million fine, and at least five years and up to a life term of supervised release.

“As the Court made clear, individuals who make a career out of trafficking highly-addictive, community-devastating drugs will be held accountable,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Alyssa Raya. “The United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will continue to remove these dealers from the streets to keep our communities safe.”

The case investigation was conducted by the Rock Island Police Department, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the DEA, with assistance from the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force and the Bremer County, Iowa, Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Raya and Jennifer Mathew represented the government in the prosecution.