Palo Alto Man Convicted of Drug Offense Near Emmetsburg High School

David Specketer, 57, from Emmetsburg, Iowa, pled guilty in federal court in Sioux City on November 14, 2024, to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a protected location. Specketer was previously convicted of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine in 2013.

At the plea hearing, Specketer admitted that on April 15, 2024, while living in Emmetsburg, Iowa, law enforcement attempted to arrest him at his residence for an outstanding arrest warrant. That warrant involved a pending 2022 case in Woodbury County for possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine. Specketer attempted to flee back into his residence after initial contact with law enforcement at his door. Law enforcement apprehended Specketer in his residence with approximately 1 ounce of methamphetamine. At the hearing, Specketer admitted he intended to distribute all or some of the methamphetamine to another. Specketer's residence is within 1,000 feet of the Emmetsburg High School, a protected location.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Specketer remains in custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing. Specketer faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years' imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 80 years' imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least eight years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by Emmetsburg Police Department, Palo Alto County Sheriff's Office, Iowa DCI Laboratory, and the Woodbury County Sheriff's Office.

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

The case file number is 24-3024. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.