Ottumwa Man Found Guilty of Federal Firearms Charges

 Des Moines, IA—On February 10, 2021, Hector Ramon Iglesias Tovar, age 34, of Ottumwa, Iowa, was found guilty by a jury of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person in violation of federal law. The verdict came after a two-day trial before United States District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger.

The evidence at trial included an AR-15 rifle seized from the residence of Iglesias Tovar and a .45 handgun seized from a vehicle he was driving. Law enforcement also seized 142 grams of methamphetamine from the residence of Iglesias Tovar. The jury found Iglesias Tovar possessed both firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. He faces a sentence of 5 years to life on the possession in furtherance of drug trafficking charge and a sentence of up to 10 years on the prohibited person in possession of a firearm charge. Iglesias Tovar previously pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine which were also charged in this case. Sentencing is scheduled for June 30, 2021.

The investigation was conducted by the Southeast Iowa Inter-Agency Drug Task Force, the Ottumwa Police Department, the Wapello County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.