Council Bluffs Man Sentenced to 14 years’ Imprisonment for Methamphetamine Conspiracy

United States Attorney Lesley A. Woods announced that Steven Potter, 54, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, was sentenced on June 26, 2026, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Chief United States District Court Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Potter to 168 months' imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Potter's release from prison, he will serve a five-year term of supervised release. Potter also forfeited any claim to more than $30,000 and a vehicle seized during the investigation.

Potter was charged as a result of his involvement with a Mexico source of supply of methamphetamine known to supply the Omaha and Council Bluffs areas with methamphetamine via a local network of drug couriers. Potter was a local courier operating in Nebraska and Iowa who distributed the Mexican source's drugs. On March 7, 2024, law enforcement observed Potter meet with suspected drug couriers at an Omaha location while conducting surveillance. Directly following the meetup, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle occupied by Potter. A search of the vehicle revealed more than 900 grams of methamphetamine. During a post-arrest interview, Potter admitted to delivering pound quantities of methamphetamine for the Mexican source for the past 8 months.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Omaha comprises agents and officers from HSI, FBI, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals Service, USPIS, the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division, and assistance of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Nebraska.