Woman convicted in northeast Iowa drug conspiracy that resulted in fatal overdose | Crime & Courts

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – A northeast Iowa woman is headed to federal prison for her involvement in a drug conspiracy that resulted in the death of a young woman.

Whitaker Jo Ingles, 30, of Dyersville, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic cocaine. Prosecutors say Ingles was part of an illegal organization that sold cocaine in the Dubuque area between 2019 and early 2021. Ingles admitted to helping get the cocaine from the person who brought it from Chicago and then working with others to distribute the drug near Madison Park in Dubuque.

According to law enforcement, one of Ingles' partners sold the drug to a young woman on February 12, 2021. The young woman went home, consumed the cocaine and suffered a fatal overdose.

Ingles has now been sentenced to eleven years and five months in prison. She must also pay $13,911.02 in damages to the family of the deceased young woman.

This case was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the U.S. Department of Justice, a cooperative effort by the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Iowa Medical Examiner's Office, and the Dubuque Drug Task Force, comprised of the Dubuque Police Department and the Dubuque Sheriff's Office.