PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: March 24, 2008

NO-SHOW WITNESS GETS YEAR IN PRISON

United States Attorney Matt M. Dummermuth announced today that a woman who failed to appear as a witness in a federal criminal trial was sentenced March 19, 2008, to 12 months in federal prison.

MELISSA MINER, age 37, of Waterloo, Iowa, was charged on August 16, 2007, with disobeying and resisting a lawful order or command of a Court of the United States. MINER had been subpoenaed to appear in Court on March 6, 2007, and testify in the drug trial of United States v. Anthony Saddler. MINER failed to appear.

MINER pled guilty on August 16, 2007. In a plea agreement, MINER admitted she knew she had to appear to testify on March 6, 2007. When MINER failed to appear to testify, a drug task force officer began making phone calls to locate MINER. MINER contacted the task force officer the afternoon of March 7, 2007, and said she had “spaced off” appearing in court on March 6.

MINER was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade to 12 months’ imprisonment to be followed by a 2-year term of supervised release after her release from prison. A special assessment of $100 was also imposed. There is no parole in the federal system.

MINER was taken into United States Marshal’s custody on March 24, 2008, where she will be held until she can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Matthew J. Cole and investigated by the Tri-County Drug Task Force, consisting of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and officers from the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office; Waterloo Police Department; Bremer County Sheriff’s Department; Cedar Falls Police Department; Waverly Police Department; Evansdale Police Department; Hudson Police Department; and La Porte City Police Department.

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