Two men from Council Bluffs have been sentenced to federal prison for their involvement in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy. Jessie Lee Holtz, 35, and Andrew Joseph Kaipus, 38, were implicated in distributing large quantities of the drug in the area during March and April 2024.
Court documents reveal that Kaipus obtained a quarter pound of methamphetamine from Holtz and subsequently sold it to a confidential informant in April 2024. As a result of these actions, Kaipus received a ten-year prison sentence on November 14, 2024, followed by five months of supervised release.
Holtz was sentenced on March 12, 2025, to serve 71 months in federal prison. Upon completing his sentence, he will also be required to undergo five years of supervised release. It is important to note that there is no parole option within the federal system.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa. The investigation involved multiple agencies including the Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, Iowa Department of Public Safety—Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Council Bluffs Police Department.