United States Drug Enforcement Administration

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl was sentenced today to more than nineteen years in federal prison.

Joshua James Cannady, age 51, from Landers, California, received the prison term after a February 19, 2026, jury verdict finding him guilty of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and seven counts of distribution of a controlled substance.  

The evidence at trial and sentencing showed that Cannady worked with others to send methamphetamine and fentanyl in Cedar Rapids and Mount Vernon, Iowa, between May 2023 and November 2024.  During the conspiracy, Cannady was involved with sending over 11 kilograms of ice methamphetamine to Iowa.  From June 2024 through November 2024, law enforcement officers purchased drugs from Cannady.  Officers seized over 450 grams of methamphetamine and 1,700 fentanyl pills from seven different packages sent from California.  When Cannady was arrested in California, officers located approximately a pound of methamphetamine that Cannady was preparing to deliver.

Cannady was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Cannady was sentenced to 235 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Postal Inspection Services, the United States Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the San Bernardino County, California, Sheriff’s Office, the Riverside County, California, Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Police Department, and the Dubuque Police Department.  It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael Hudson and Assistant United States Attorney Dillan Edwards.