Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, Man Guilty of Distributing Cocaine

Press Release

Young Woman Died After Using Cocaine Distributed as Part of Trafficking Conspiracy

A man who conspired with others to distribute large quantities of cocaine that resulted in the death of a young Dubuque woman pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Michael Samuel Knight, age 38, from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams of more of cocaine within 1000 feet of several parks and schools in Dubuque, Iowa, between 2017 and April of 2021, that resulted in the death of a young Dubuque woman on February 14, 2021. Knight also pled guilty to personally distributing the cocaine on February 14, 2021, that caused the woman's death.

At the plea hearing, Knight admitted he was a member of a conspiracy to distribute cocaine in the Dubuque area near numerous parks and schools. He admitted getting cocaine from the individual who brought it from Chicago, and then worked with others to distribute the cocaine to customers in Dubuque. On February 14, 2021, Knight distributed cocaine to a young woman in Dubuque who went home, used the cocaine and died.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Knight remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Knight faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $6,000,000 fine, and up to life on supervised release following any imprisonment. Knight will also be required to pay restitution to the family of the young woman who died using the cocaine distributed by him.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Patrick J. Reinert and Nicole Nagin and was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department

of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Iowa Medical Examiner's Office and the Dubuque Drug Task Force, comprised of Dubuque Police Department, Dubuque Sheriff's Office.

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

The case file number is 23-CR-01013.

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Updated September 12, 2024