Published: July 25, 2008 09:47 am      

Clinton man gets 25-year sentence

CLINTON — A Clinton man charged with manufacturing methamphetamine has pleaded guilty and will serve up to 25 years in prison.

Waylon J. Koehler, 28, was arrested April 16 and originally charged with manufacture or conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine in excess of five grams. On July 17, Koehler withdrew his previous plea of not guilty to the charge, pursuant to a plea agreement, and entered a plea of guilty to manufacture of methamphetamine. On Thursday afternoon, Koehler was sentenced to serve a term not to exceed 25 years in the Iowa Department of Corrections and given credit for time served to date. The sentence was enhanced due to a prior controlled substance conviction. The state had recommended a sentence not to exceed 45 years. Koehler also was fined $10,000.

The conviction stems from an incident on April 7 in which Clinton County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to 420th Avenue and Iowa 136 regarding a possible methamphetamine lab dump site. Assisted at the scene by the Clinton Police Department and the Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement, deputies located cans of Coleman fuel in a ditch and other materials under an overpass. According to court documents, one can of fuel was located in a plastic bag which contained a receipt for the purchase from the Clinton Wal-Mart on April 3.

At the scene, officials found a plastic gas can that later tested positive for the presence of ammonia and a plastic pitcher with light blue fluid believed to be Coleman fuel with small white chunks in it, believed to be small pieces of meth. Court records state officials also located a bag containing coffee filters and plastic bowls with holes drilled in the bottom, a section of black hose approximately six feet long with a homemade fitting believed to be used in the theft of anhydrous ammonia and a glass jar with clear plastic tubing protruding from the lid. A test of the tubing detected an acidic pH which court documents detail is consistent with the use of hydrogen chloride gas, a key component of meth production. Footwear patterns located in the mud were preserved for evidence.

According to the affidavit, the Clinton Police Department received a call on April 3 from a local pharmacy reporting that Koehler approached the pharmacist asking to purchase the most amount of pseudoephedrine that he could legally purchase at one time.

The affidavit states Koehler purchased 7,200 milligrams of pseudoephedrine within 30 days, just 300 milligrams short of the legal limit.

Court documents state Clinton police officers executed a search warrant on Koehler’s residence on April 15 and located a shoe with similar tread pattern as those found at the dump site, as well as clothing identified as being worn by Koehler during the purchases of the pseudoephedrine and fuel. In an interview at the police department on April 15, Koehler admitted to purchasing the pseudoephedrine and fuel, but said he gave the fuel to someone else and refused to identify that person. Koehler reportedly denied any involvement in the manufacture of meth.

In 2006, Koehler was charged with a felony controlled substance violation and received a 10-year suspended prison term. At that time, he also pleaded guilty to second-degree theft and was sentenced to serve five years in prison, but the term was suspended. Koehler was placed on probation for three years. Included in his plea agreement for the current charges, Koehler admitted committing a probation violation.

Koehler will be transported to the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Oakdale.