Cedar Rapids fugitive accused of drug offenses remains in jail until October trial

CEDAR RAPIDS – A Cedar Rapids man convicted of gun and drug offenses must remain in prison until his federal drug trafficking trial in October after spending months on the run until his July 29 arrest in Wisconsin.

Cordarryl Cortez Smith, 37, was charged in April with two counts of distribution of a controlled substance in the vicinity of a protected place, two counts of distribution of a controlled substance and one count of distribution and aiding and abetting the distribution of a controlled substance in the vicinity of a protected place.

Prosecutions against Smith, who was convicted in Linn County District Court in 2016 of shooting a man and other gun-related charges, were stayed in U.S. District Court pending his arrest. He was on the run for months until the U.S. Marshals Service received information that he was in Wisconsin.

The Northern District of Iowa Marshals, working with the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, have narrowed down Smith's location to the 5300 block of High Crossing Boulevard in Madison, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. He was spotted leaving a building to get into a vehicle around 10:30 a.m. on July 29.

He was arrested by marshals and extradited to Cedar Rapids.

Smith pleaded not guilty to all five charges at his initial appearance and arraignment last week and was temporarily remanded in custody pending his detention hearing on Wednesday.

During the hearing, Judge Mark Roberts ruled that Smith must remain in jail until his trial in U.S. District Court on October 15. Roberts ruled that there was a reasonable probable cause to believe Smith committed the crimes he was charged with and that there was no condition or combination of conditions for release that would “reasonably ensure the safety” of the community. In addition, the judge cited Smith's criminal history, use of violence or weapons, lack of significant community or family ties in the county and his previous failure to appear in court.

Smith is accused of distributing 50 grams or more of pure methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of the Johnson STEAM Academy Magnet School in Cedar Rapids on March 2, 2023.

He is also accused of distributing more than 50 grams of meth and a mixture or substance containing fentanyl on March 8 and November 2, 2023.

And Smith was charged with distributing a controlled substance on November 16, 2023, and distributing and aiding the trafficking of cocaine within 1,000 feet of Metro High School in Cedar Rapids on November 30, 2023.

The distribution charge is punishable by a minimum term of ten years in a federal prison.

Smith served about three or four years of a 15-year sentence imposed in 2016 in a state prison before being paroled in 2021, according to the Iowa Department of Corrections. In that case, Smith shot another man, then-38-year-old Mack Jackson, during an argument on Sept. 5, 2015. The handgun used by Smith was one of 20 guns stolen from a safe in an unsecured, detached garage on July 26, 2013.

In this case, too, Smith was a fugitive. He was found months later by the marshals in Illinois.

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